The Prophecy
by DarkTragicAngel
Summary: In a far future, when the world is a barren place, Light and his family leave their village. In the way they meet two strangers, father and son. They travel together and little by little reveal their strange and mysterious nature. Destiny awaits them all.
1. Prologue

**_Oh Ambition! Oh Lust! The folly of humankind._**

Long ago, before time itself, mankind lived their Golden Era. It was the time of the great cities of towers, so high they touched the skies. It was the time that hunger and misery were strange notions to men. It was the time of great god Techno, the Provider of Life. Mighty Techno ruled all artificial beings and therefore was present in them. It was Techno who gave life and wisdom to the inanimate ones, offering to each and every human a loyal and always obedient servant. People worshiped great god Techno, for it provided all comfort and facilities in men's life.

The human race multiplied and multiplied. The great cities of towers grew bigger and bigger. People claimed the forests, the mountains and valleys and in the end, they even claimed the seas. Other living beings saw their world shrink as brick and metal changed the landscapes. Mother Nature became ill and despite her warnings and symptoms, people ignored her pleas for help. They were blinded by the greatness of Techno and believed that he was powerful enough to rule the Earth without Mother Nature.

Little did mankind know that the Creators were following their foolishness. They witnessed their most refined and advanced creation auto-destruct by being ignorant and dependant of Techno. The Creators gathered in their world and after days of profound reflection, they decided to do the one thing they had promised long ago to never carry out: descend to the Human Realm and intervene.

At first, humans feared the powerful creatures that revealed to be their Creators. They panicked and turned to Techno in hope their god would destroy these strange beings. But Techno failed and the Creators remained safe and sound on Earth. Their persistent presence and constant kindness ended by winning the hearts of people. Once the fear disappeared, the Creators approached humans and passed on their wisdom and knowledge. For many years, humans and the Creators lived in peace and harmony, side by side. The world had never lived such as balanced time. Trees and flowers were planted in the great cities and on their tall towers. Frontiers were made where no man should go, the rein of animals. The skies and seas were clean again and the ground was black and fertile.

The more the Creators stayed on Earth, the more they felt fascinated by their favorite creation. And so they violated a second sacred rule: never procreate with humans. And so, one day a human woman gave birth to a child of a Creator. The other Creators were infuriated and demanded the death of the child. But the Great White Mother took pity of the human woman who possessed so much love for that little new life. She protected the woman and her child. And so the child grew. Once he reached the adult life, he revealed himself to both the Creators and humans. His wisdom and knowledge of the world and Nature was as great as the one of the Creators, but his feelings were as passionate and vulnerable as the humans. People called him the Wise One. The man that held the memories of his forefathers, the man that spoke the language of Life and Death. And so, he was accepted and cherished by everyone. After that, more Creators and humans bonded and they too had children. A new race developed. The Wise Ones were like a bridge between the two races and secured the harmony between Creator and Created.

But as the number of the Wise Ones increased, a dark shadow of fear and mistrust hung over mankind. The power and wisdom of the hybrid race intimidated many, who felt inferior by those who carried the mysteries of life and death within them. A rebel group was formed. They called themselves the "Truth Holders", claiming they knew the real intentions of the Creators and the destructive role of the Wise Ones: a major complot to overpower Techno and enslave human kind. They claimed that through apparent kindness and helpfulness, the Creators would trap mankind in a web of lies and illusions, in order to produce a new and more perfected race and eventually, destroy mankind. Fear is like poison and the belief of doom spread itself over the world, manipulating and pressuring people to go against the Creators and their new hybrid offspring.

A second group was formed, one that refused to believe in the horrors told by the Truth Holders. They were lead by a family called Watari and too attracted many to their belief that the Creators and Wise Ones were on Earth to help. They accused the Truth Holders of inventing a lie and defended by all costs the superior races.

The world was split. Divided by those who followed the Truth Holders, wishing to return to the time Techno ruled Earth, desiring freedom and independence; and by those who followed the Watari's, persuading the good intentions of the Creators and the great deeds of the Wise Ones. A violent war followed. The Truth Holders made a deadly pact with Techno. The great Provider of Life created the most powerful and deadly weapon ever invented. Its target were the Wise Ones but many cities of men were destroyed in this great battle. Techno betrayed the Truth Holders for it created a weapon that saw no difference between men and Wise Ones. It lost control and worked at its own will. Everywhere it went, it left a path of destruction behind it. The downfall of humankind seemed near.

Feeling betrayed by the humans, all Creators abandoned Earth and returned to their realm. All except for two: the Great White Mother and the Great Dark Father. They bounded their strength and desperately tried to save the little that could be saved. The deadly weapon was stopped and Techno killed. But it was too late. The beautiful cities of towers were already ruined, hunger and disease had claimed many lives, and the Earth became a dead land, dry and infertile. The Truth Holders kept their conviction still, and accused the Creators and Wise Ones for starting the whole destruction of Earth. A last confrontation took place and the Truth Holders managed to achieve what everyone thought was impossible: they killed the Great White Mother. Trying to protect her children, the superior creature was reduced into dust. The world was shocked and the Great Dark Father revealed his fearsome mightiness. He swept death throughout many, many homes and when his fury finally ended, he cursed humankind. His words were heard in the whole planet and imprinted in the memory of every child that still was to be born:

"Foolish cruel humans! Victims of your own stupidity! You thought your god Techo was on your side? You thought you could control it? How blind can one be? Techno was cold, lifeless, emotionless. It was nothing more than a device that understood instructions, conclusions, calculations. It had no conscious, no self remorse. It did what it was told. It saw no differentiation. For Techno, there is no good or evil.

Your wonderful world of comfort and luxury has come to an end. From now on you must rely on yourselves. No more help from artificial beings, no more help from the Creators, no more help from the Wise Ones. Your cities are destroyed. Now live in the bare soil, dry and dead. Hot at day and freezing at night. The Earth is dying. And you are doomed to live in it. And die slowly until the Earth is nothing but a no one's land!!!"

After these words, the Great Dark Father disappeared. Some said he returned to his realm, others said he stayed on Earth, hidden in a place where no human will ever come, guarding the ashes of the Great White Mother. The terrifying words of the Creator echoed in the ears of every human being. Conflicts rose as everybody accused each other. People divided and left in different paths. The Truth Holders lost many followers, but continued their battle in finding and eliminating any Wise One that still breathed air. The Great Dark Father had not lied. Humans were victims of their own folly. They struggled to find ways to survive in the barren conditions they found themselves in, a hard and almost impossible task. But they survived, they continued living and new generations were born. Mankind regretted each and every day for their mistake and lived in permanent penitence. One day, one of the few surviving Wise Ones travelled the Earth with a message for the desperate:

"My poor people. Being punished so severely. I too suffer, as I watch my own race being persecuted by the Truth Holders. But I feel no resentment towards you, my dear ones. You were fooled, tricked by evil liars. And now are paying high fees for your misjudgment. But I bring you words of comfort.

Mankind meets now a long dark period of suffering, but hope must not die, for the children of your children will witness the return of the Balance. The planet is ill, very ill, but it's not dead. It needs time to heal, just like everything in life. My dear people, I've saw glimpses of the future. After a long time of great pain and sadness in the world, one of my own kin will survive the anger of the Truth Holders and will forgive mankind for its cruelty. This Wise One will reveal the secrets of Life and Death and restore peace between mankind and the Creators. Keep hope, for one day, this person that is both human and Creator will show the wonders of rebirth."

The Wise One travelled the Earth for many years, bringing this prophecy to the knowledge of everyone. And as she herself once had predicted, she came face to face with the Truth Holders followers and met her end. As for the followers from the Watari family, they remained faithful to their ideals and travelled to remote places, where they hid the surviving Wise Ones from the cruel Truth Holders. Meanwhile, in times of despair and pain, humankind still waits for the outcome of the prophecy.

* * *

**This is the introdution to a mysterious tale. As you can understand, it will take place in a kind of pos-apolyptical scenery. I'll try to insert the greatest number possible of Death Note characters in it, even if they are mere figurants (in the same manner as SP story "Unexcepted"). If you are smart, you already figured some out of this chapter.**

**I hope you'll enjoy this story, which is a complelty new thing for me as style and genre. I'm enjoying writing it right now and think it will evolve to a real interesting story. At least, that would be my wish and expectations.**

**Please Revieuw, feedback is always important. I love knowing the opinion of the readers.**


	2. Mountain of Oblivion

**Reality. What is real? Is reality what we see? Is what we see real?**

* * *

We've been traveling for days now. It feels like an eternity since we left our small village and entered the dry and hot lands of Scarlet Plane. I stare at the arid ground, cracked from the heat, tracing irregular square figures like a broken mosaic. I look at the rocky hills, far away, moving slowly at our right. The old ones call it the Mountain of Oblivion for it's said that these hills are cursed and filled with evil magic. When people enter them they become mad and lose their life memories. They stay trapped between the stones in a permanent state of dream until they end up dying of hunger and thirst. I feel curious and wonder if that's true and even fell temped to enter them. I sigh as I'm aware that my inquisitiveness will not be satiated.

I'm bored. I turn around and see my younger sister Sayu sleeping next to my recent bride Misa. They both look tired and hot, with pink cheeks and their hair glued to their temples. I take a better look at Misa and notice that her belly is growing fast. It was only four and a half months ago that Misa and I came together in the Spring Fertility Festival. As I reached the adult age, I was required like all single men to participate on this ritual. We all received a strange drink with a strong scent and were lead to the sacred cave where a large fire was built on the center of the cavern. There, the single women awaited us, naked with their bodies fully painted in animal patters. A strange force joined men with women, connecting them in a way that man and woman become one. I became one with Misa and from our connection a new life was created in her womb. Of course that marriage was after that no option. I curse the fertility gods for bringing us together in that decisive night and for impregnating Misa. She always said we were meant to be together and the more she adored me, the more I detested her. And now I find myself trapped with her for the rest of my life. Damn!

She opens her eyes and, seeing me, smiles tiredly. I smile back, after all she'll be the mother of my child. Then she turns her gaze to the Mountain of Oblivion. I leave her alone and turn around facing my parents. My father's eyes are fixed on the cametriches that run continually and with such easiness that I wonder if they even feel the heat of the sun. My mother looks hypnotized by the deserted landscape that extends itself before us for miles and miles. There is nothing alive, nothing to see in the way, only infertile red hard ground and the magic hills on our right.

I turn around to watch the girls again and am surprised to notice that Misa hasn't taken her eyes of the sand colored hills. Her eyes are slightly widened in a mixture of surprise and fear. I look at the Mountain of Oblivion. It's still moving slowly next to us, big and powerful with its shadows defining the shapes of the rocks. I see nothing interesting in them until I notice a white shape on the top of the mountain. My heart bangs strongly as I focus my eyes better on the shape. It's a person, more likely a small old man with white hair and a white tunica. Despite the heat, I shiver.

"Is it a ghost?" Misa's voice speaks out my thoughts.

"I-I don't know. I really have no idea." I hurriedly turn to my father. "Dad, there's somebody on the hills!"

"What?" He stares at me confused and then looks at the mountain. My mother follows his example.

"My God!" She exclaims. I can hear in the tone of her voice that she's frightened.

"What's that?" I ask my father. I too am very alarmed.

"I don't know and to be honest I'm not going to try and figure out who or what it may be." At this, he ticks the cametriches , signing them to accelerate their pace.

We travel and travel until the Mountain of Oblivion is nothing more than a shadow in the landscape. The white figure followed us the whole journey. We could feel his eyes on us the whole time, an uncomfortable feeling of vigilance. But now it was far away, behind us. My thoughts went back to the tales told by old people about those who adventured in those rocky hills and never returned. Who was the man in white? Was he the spirit of the mountain? Could such an entity exist? Although we were far from the site, I still felt troubled.

Evening fell and the hot air became chilly. My father stops in order to camp at night. I look at the way behind us. The Mountain of Oblivion is far away from us now, away from sight. I sigh relieved. No reason to worry anymore. I help my father building the camp site, while my mother and sister build up a fire. Misa is yelling around, frustrated and furious, complaining that she's no handicap just because she's pregnant but ends up by obeying my mother and sitting "quietly" by the animals.

"How many days now?" Sayu asks during diner. I stare a bit disgusted at the dry and salty piece of lizard meat I'm holding in my hand. We've been eating nothing else for the past 5 days and I'm longing for something different and tastier.

"Another 3 days and we'll reach the Oasis of Fortune." My father simply answers. He's a man of a few words, strong and deep words, the authorial figure of our family, the person I look up at.

"Good, 'cause our food and drink supplies are starting to diminish. Besides, Misa needs a good rest." My mother says.

"Ahhhh! Misa-Misa is fine! She feels perfectly fit! The baby too!" Her hysterical and annoying voice pierces my ears. Hell, I'm doomed. I wish I was more like my sister. She adores Misa and laughs at everything the blond girl says.

We all go to sleep early. The air is too cold at night to travel and we restore our strength during the dark hours. I sleep a restless sleep. My dreams take me to an unwanted place, to the site I do not wish to see anymore, to the Mountain of Oblivion.

I'm standing alone in the vast Scarlet Plain. There is nobody around, no living being, nothing. All I see is the vast red soil that extends itself infinitely. I hear nothing but my own breathing, not even a small breeze. My eyes are fixed on the horizon. I see something very far away. A small shape, nothing more but a shadow in the barren landscape. It's moving towards me, quickly, very quickly. I recognize the shape as it grows in height. Before I know, the Mountain of Oblivion is right on front of me. Tall and fierce. I'm trembling of fear and want to run away, but my legs are rooted to the ground. There, on the top of the highest hill I recognize the white figure I saw this afternoon. He's staring at me. I'm surprised. I miscalculated. It's no old man, but a small child. A child around 5 years old. A child with pale skin, white curly hair and black eyes. Black as coal. And they are fixed on me.

"Why you ran away?" his small voice demands. "We need your help. You need our help. Please come back." I can feel the panic in my body increase. My heart is beating faster than it ever did. I'm sweating and trembling of fear.

"You're a ghost! The spirit of the mountain!" I manage to scream. "I'm not returning! You want to take me, but you'll not succeed!" I'm surprised with my words, with my own courage. The young child merely stares at me. He looks disappointed.

"As you wish." At this he turns his back to me and disappears behind the rocks. "But you cannot escape your destiny." I hear his voice echoing in my head.

"Leave me alone!" I desperately scream. "Leave me ALONE! LEAVE!"I wake up screaming these words. Misa is sitting next to me, her expression worried, something I'm not used to see in her always merry face.

"Light-kun, you had a bad dream." I place my hand on my forehead. My hand is shaking and I feel my skin is wet.

"I dreamt with the mountain from this afternoon. It was not an old man but a small child. He wanted to take me with him." Misa looked at me scared. I can see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Light-kun, Misa-Misa dreamt the same!"

"AHHHHHHHH!" Both Misa and I jump as we recognize Sayu's scream. I quickly lift up and come out of the tent. I close my eyes as they are painfully blinded by the sharp sun.

"How is this possible?" I hear my father. My sister is sobbing. I open my eyes. For my shock I see, only miles away from us, the Mountain of Oblivion.

"We are doomed!" Sayu screams as she grasps tightly my father's arms. "It followed us while we slept!"

"Impossible." My father says

"I dreamt with the mountain and a small child. He wanted me to follow him." I finally speak.

"I dreamt the same dream." My mother says. She's standing behind me, her hands folded as in prayer.

"So did I." Teary Sayu speaks.

"Misa too." I add. My father is silent. No need to ask if he had the same dream. We all knew he dreamt it too.

"We will not let ourselves be threatened by a mountain. We'll carry on with our journey. The spirits of the mountain will have to give up eventually." He solemnly speaks. Sayu presses her body closer to my father and I feel a couple arms surround my body.

"Misa-Misa is so scared! She doesn't want to die! She wants to have Light-kun's baby!" I roll my eyes and wish I never made it to that stupid Fertility Festival.

We gather our stuff and proceed with our travel. The hills are left once again behind us and we all try to forget the strange happening from this morning. Only now I realize I'm hungry. We were all too scared to even think about breakfast. But I remain silent, I only wish to distance as much as possible from that cursed place. The hours pass and we all feel weary and hot. I'm half asleep when I heard my mother gasp and the caravan stop. I turn to see what stopped us and feel all my blood drain down. I hear my sister suppress a scream and sob hysterically. Before us, rising in the vast landscape is the cursed Mountain of Oblivion.

"I will not be frightened by a large rock!" My father yells and brutally turns the cametriches around and run the opposite way. No one speaks. We are all too shocked and scared to speak. We are alone in a great desert and being followed by a magic mountain with a spirit disguised as an innocent child. I press Misa's hand. I share the same fear of not seeing our child being born. I pray to the gods to protect us, to guide us away from this nightmare. We travel with no stops. Evening fells and my father orders to share the food as he continues traveling in the cold air of the night, following the brightest star in the sky, the star of Hope, the star of the Travelers, the star that always points north.

The night air is freezing. I'm curled in sheets, trying to preserve my body heat and make an effort to sleep. In find myself in an awkward state between awakeness and dream.

"It's pointless. You cannot escape your destiny. Please. Follow me." I see the black eyes on front of me and sit up straight sweating from the nerves. I feel the caravan is stopped and in the dawn of the morning I can trace a large massive body rising right before my eyes. My father is paralyzed. His face is pale.

"Dad?" I whisper.

"I don't understand." He replies. "I followed the Fire star all day and the star of the Travelers all night. It's just impossible."

"We travelled in the right direction. It's the mountain that keeps moving around." I dejectedly say. We both sit silent for a while, staring at the cursed rocky mountain before us. I turn around and glimpse at the back of the caravan. Sayu, Misa and my mother are sleeping close to each other, so peacefully, unaware of the situation we find ourselves in. "We have no other choice. One of us will have to go to the mountain." I finally say. I'm scared, but I know this is the only way to figure out what's going on.

"I'll go there." My father speaks.

"No! If something happens to you we'll be helpless. You're the one with the travelling knowledge!" I disagree with him. "I'll go there. If something happens to me, you still can go away."

"What about Misa? She's carrying your child." He angrily asks.

"If something is to happen to me, then she'll have you all to help her. Please, you must let me go. We cannot miss you here! None of us knows the ways of the desert like you!" I insist. I can see my father disapproves me, but he too knows I'm right. He looks older for a moment.

"Go then my son."

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**A/N**

**Aaayy! The first chapter with the DN characters! What do you think about it? Hope you enjoyed it. Revieuw, please, revieuw!**

**For the record, camestriches are a new kind of animal that travels fast like the** **oostrich and survives perfectly well in the desert like the camel.**


	3. First Encounter

**_Sometimes the reality doesn't match your expectations. Sometimes they do for someone else instead._**

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"Go then my son. Go before one of them wakes up." He nods in de direction of the three sleeping women. I smile and stand up. "And Light. Be careful." He worriedly adds. I nod and walk towards the mountain. I do not look back. I do not dare to look back. I'm afraid the caravan may not stand there anymore. It would be too horrible. I think I would get instantaneously mad. Maybe that's what happened to the other travelers. I'm scared. So very scared.

I walk cautiously and every step I take makes the mountain look larger. My heart is banging frantically, but part of me is curious and not so afraid. I walk until I stand at the foot of the mountain. It's high, but not as high as I first thought. It should be easy to climb. I look around and notice that the first sun rays are illuminating the rocks. My mother, Sayu and Misa must have woken up by now and must be terrified with the thought I am alone down here. Then, the early morning light reveals me a small path made by men. I take the path and notice it goes up. Strangely enough I feel the fear thinning and I am instead impelled in searching the strange boy from my nightmares.

I stop at midway, just a short while to catch my breath. The sun came up fast and hot. Only now do I dare to look down and to my relief, I see the caravan where my family is. Then I look up and almost jump from fright when my eyes meet the child that has been hunting my dreams lately. He's standing on the top of the highest hill, staring at me, with no specific expression. I sigh nervously and notice he's not taking any action. And so I resume my walk. I pace slowly under the growing heat, panting and sweating, but determined to face whatever my destiny is.

I reach the top. The child is still there. He's even smaller than I calculated. He's only meters away from me. My heart is pumping in a savage rate. I wonder if this is the moment I'm going to die.

"Finally." The child simply says and runs off, down the hill, the opposite side I came from.

"What the?" I mumble confused. Without thinking I follow the strange child. I run behind him and somehow feel irritated. He's fast and lean, while I trip several times, hurting myself. He stops at the entrance of a small dark cave and stares at me again.

"Oh no, no way I'm entering there!" I say. The child gives me an annoyed look and runs inside the cave. I hesitate a while. I pounder if I should enter it or not. If I don't and return, probably I'll be hunted down by the child and his freaking mountain. If I go in, god knows what should happen.

After pondering a while I end up deciding to enter the cave. At least there it should be cooler than outside. I enter and the cave is too dark to see anything. I hear nothing but my fast breathing and my stumbling feet. I walk with my hand glued to the cool rocky wall, the only guidance I have in the darkness. I wonder if I already died and am now lost, wondering in the underworld. After a period of time, that seemed to be an eternity for me, I see a small light in the end of the cave's corridor. My hopes are high and I quicker my steps. But soon enough I freeze, for I see a sight I didn't expect to see. The end of the corridor I'm walking in, marks the entrance of a small round space with light coming from above. This space is like a room inside the cave. Inside of it I see a man. He's kneeled before a pile of stones. Kneeled with his head bowed down and static like a statue. The stones are placed perfectly lined on each other, selected by size and shape. It's clear that each and every round white stone was placed with deep care and detail.

I'm stunned by the scene. The man doesn't move one inch. He probably didn't even notice my presence. I take a better look at him. I cannot see his face well, but he seems young to me. He has very pale complexions, which are greatly contrasted by his dark hair, black like a moonless night. He's wearing a long white garment and dark blue trousers. He's so silent and still that I wonder if he's praying or meditating. Curiously, I take a step forward and the sound echoes thought the whole cavern. I curse internally.

The man shrugs suddenly, obviously from fright. He quickly turns around seeking the origin of the sound and spots me. I'm paralyzed, feeling both stupid and scared. Our eyes are locked on each other. We are both motionless and time ceases from existing. I can sense his gaze is overmastering my body. I feel trapped, like a prey spotted by the predator. His gaze is so intense that I dare not to move or speak. It's like he's piercing my soul and exploring my conscious, in search of my persona. Never in my life had I felt as intimidated as now. I feel like I'm being judged. But by whom? Or should I say, by what?

I observe him better. His eyes are larger and rounder than any person I've ever met. The dark shadows trace deep black rings under his eyes, reveling lack of sleep. And like the child, his eyes are black as coal. I was not mistaken by his age, a man in the beginning of his twenties, way too skinny to be living a healthy life. After a long while staring at me, his eyes shrink into a suspicious and threatening look.

"Who are you?" his voice is low and calm, but I can sense the alarming in it.

"My name is Light Yagami. I come from the Nakano clan of the Kanto region. My family and I have been traveling for a week now. We were trying to reach the Oasis of Fortune but we kept being followed by this mountain!" I speak nervously, everything in one breath. I realize when I shut my mouth that I said much more than the man asked. Once again I feel stupid. The man somehow must have accepted my answer for his eyes grew rounder again and his shoulders relaxed.

"The mountain didn't follow you and your family. A person with common sense would understand that a large object made of rocks cannot move around." I feel even more stupid and this time offended too.

"I saw the mountain yesterday's morning and in the afternoon again. It has been following us!" I insist.

"How close were you from the mountain? A couple meters or some few miles away?"

"Some good miles." I feel my heart sink. I can sense already what the answer to this mystery will be .

"Ever heard about mirages? It happens frequently in deserts. The mirages misled you, so you travelled in a great circle, coming back to where you started." He speaks out what I feared to hear.

"What about the spirit of the mountain?" I ask. He looks confused at me and places his index on his bottom lip.

"What spirit?"

"The child with white hair! He's been appearing in dreams. Not only I dreamt with him, my whole family had the same dream."

"Oh, that would be Near." I feel confused now. "Actually his name is Nate, but I call him Near, for always being so close to the truth."

"You know him?" Fear is returning to me again.

"He's my son." I gasp shocked. He's his son. This means they are together in this. The kid was the bate and he's the real spirit of the mountain. I'm doomed. I'll never see my family again. I'll never see my child born. It's over.

"It's silly to believe in spirits. It's something typical from ignorant people, not something for someone of your intelligence." He points at me with his index, his eyes wide open, round like two dark orbs. I'm speechless. I wonder if he reads minds. "Near is a very gifted child, but he's stubborn. He usually finds means in getting his way."

"You mean mental powers?"

"Call it whatever you wish to name it." I feel a bit irritated. This guy is way too vague for my liking and I still don't know why I'm here. "What matters now is that you are here, that am I here. The present moment is want counts right now." I stare at him confused again. I'm almost convinced he knows my thoughts. "If I understood well, you're travelling with your family and are now lost. Right?" I nod, no doubt about that. "I can help you find your way back and arrive safely to your destination. In return I ask nothing else but that you allow Near and myself to travel with you until we find civilization again." I stare amazed at his request. The child's words echoes my mind "_We need your help. You need our help_." Is that what he wanted from the beginning? Were we all blinded by superstition and failed to see what was real?

"Who's buried there?" I ask. I need to know more about this guy before taking him to my family. I don't know what kind of person he is neither what his intentions are.

"An old friend. He died peacefully three days ago of old age. His name was Quillsh Wammy, a good man. Took care of me like if I was his own son."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" He asks me inquiringly

"Well, because he died. You must be sad for he's loss."

"I'm sad because I miss him. Death is just a part of Life. It completes the circle. Wammy lived his life the best he could and reached the end of his path. Now he rests and prepares for Rebirth." I stare more confused than ever. Is he some kind of philosopher?

"You believe in Rebirth?" The man stares a while at me and stands up. "So, what will be your decision, Light Yagami? Will you allow us to travel with your family and guide you to a safe haven or will you leave us in the mountain and wonder around under the hot sun and chill moon?" It's clear he wishes no more to speak about life and death. I ponder his words for a while. And what a nice way to put out the options. Very manipulative, yet, very truthful.

"I'll need to know the name of the man I'm travelling with." For the first time his lips draw a smile. Not a fake smile, but a sincere one. His whole face seems transformed, making him look younger and kinder.

"You can call me Ryuzaki." I stretch my hand and he stares at it only two seconds. We shake our hands and I feel we sealed an important pact. Somehow I have the feeling that I agreed much more than we just spoke. I can hear the child's voice in my head. "Nice to meet you, Light Yagami."

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**_A/N_**

**_And indeed, they finnaly meet. What did you find of this chapter? Ryuzaki has the same age as in Death Note, meaning he's 24/25. Therefore, I made Near younger, he's around 4/5 years old. Any thoughts or theories yet about this plot?_**

**_Please, do continue Revieuwing!_**


	4. Strange Travellers

**_Trust me, trust me not. Do you have a choice?_**

* * *

"Nice to meet you, Light Yagami."

I shrug of fright when I hear the child's voice. Ryuzaki stares at me with an impassive expression. I separate our hands and only then do I notice in the small head peering from behind Ryuzaki. I sight unnerved. The voice wasn't in my head, silly me! The child is smiling strangely at me as if he's telling me he knows something I don't. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Near, this fine young man is allowing us to travel with him." Ryuzaki's calm voice echoes slightly in the cave. The child only stares at him for a mere second and as if he was ordered, he quickly runs to a hidden part of the cave. He returns only a moment later with a stuffed toy. He presses the doll and takes hold of Ryuzaki's hand.

"Come Light, we are leaving now." I stare a bit amazed. Is this all what they have? The clothes they are wearing and a stuffed toy?

"You don't have any other possessions?" Ryuzaki stares at me with his big round eyes.

"We have all we need with us now." I'm not really pleased with his answer. I have the strange feeling he's hiding something from me. I find it hard to believe that they belong to some kind of culture that lives with less of the basic daily needs. There's something in the aura of this man that's peculiar and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. But if he can help us, then I'm in. We've lost a day and a half journey because of the mirages; this is, if they were really mirages… Anyway, we need to reach the Oasis of Fortune as fast as possible.

We descend silently and are warmed by the sun rays. As we approach the caravan, Sayu and Misa start running in my direction, yelling out my name. But they freeze half way when they see Ryuzaki and Near walking just behind me. I notice my father stand up immediately, his face showing surprise and mistrust. They all await us in silence and no one speaks even when we are just a few meters away from each other.

"This is Ryuzaki and his son Near." I hear soft gasps coming from the women; my father eyes the child suspiciously. "The boy isn't a spirit, just a regular kid." I try to hide my own disbelief that this child is normal. Ryuzaki remains silent behind me, which makes things much more difficult for me. "They have been eh…staying in the mountain for the last three days and need a ride to the closest village." My father comes to us, tall and strong, his eyes never leaving Ryuzaki.

"In what circumstances did you arrive here, Ryuzaki?"

"An explanation for our presence here would be uncalled for."

"But I insist." Ryuzaki's and my father's eyes meet in a mental challenge. I can read in my father's eyes the distrust towards Ryuzaki. And I notice Ryuzaki is analyzing my father, just like he did with me before.

"If you must know, we were traveling to the city of Nara for trade but were assaulted by Desert Raiders." He speaks in a neutral tone, not revealing any kind of emotion.

"Desert Raiders?" My mother worriedly whispers. Ryuzaki's head turns a bit to face her.

"Yes, Desert Raiders. A much greater concern than mystic mountains I can assure you, madam."

"And this happened three days ago? How did you survive?" My father continues with his interrogation.

"The mountain provides the basic needs to survive. The soil inside its cavern is fresh and wet. There weeds grow and they give us enough ration and liquids to go on for a while." I notice my father's left eye twitch.

"And which clan to do belong to?"

"The Hiyama clan."

"I see." My father pauses. "You were most unfortunate. I didn't know that Desert Raiders were active in the Scarlet Plain." I can sense he doesn't believe Ryuzaki's story. I too find it hard to accept as true.

"They are active where they wish to be, Yagami-san." Ryuzaki merely answers. I can sense a hint of impatience in his voice. "Will you allow us to travel with you or are we going to carry on with this merry chat under the hot sun? Time's ticking and I believe you are short of it. Am I wrong?" I stare with disbelief at Ryuzaki. He sure goes right to the point. What a brutality! One thing is certain, good manners are not his strong side. My father seems to be taken back for a moment and looks strait into Ryuzaki's eyes. I don't know what he saw in them, but it certainly made him change of attitude right away. He's expression became milder and his voice less severe.

"I suppose you are right. We can resume our conversation during the journey." At this he gestures at our family and we all follow him, including Ryuzaki and Near.

We pick up our travel again. I stare at the odd figure of Ryuzaki sitting next to my father. He doesn't sit like a regular person but is crouched the whole time, perfectly balanced in his forefeet. He's always slightly bowed, even when he walks, like if has back problems. Near is too sitting crouched with his back against to his father. His eyes are always fixed on us, like a vigilant hawk. The child had been silent from the moment we left and the only movements he makes is petting his stuffed rabbit and playing with his hair. Once in a while we look at each other, but we do not dare to exchange words. My father and Ryuzaki don't talk either.

I'm worried, because we are not following the sun, our trustful guide. Instead my father shifts now and then the caravan to a direction that Ryuzaki points out. I look to the way. All I can see is the unchangeable landscape of ever: vast, red and dry soil that extends itself into infinity. I see no any kind of differences, no signal that would indicate that we need to change directions. I'm worried that we are being fooled and misled. But what other option do we have? We are alone in a hot desert with little food supplies, far from any human community. And now we are probably lost because of all the turns my father took. We are fully dependent of Ryuzaki's guidance. I do hope we can trust him.

Night is falling again. The temperature falls quickly. Near turns to his father and for the first time he does something that is perfectly normal for a child: he sits on his father lap and puts his little arms around Ryuzaki's small back. We travel until the sun almost sets down, when the sky is as red as the soil under our feet. We stop. I get up strait away to help my father with the animals.

"Oh! Thank you." I turn around surprised to hear Misa's high-pitched voice. Ryuzaki is helping her getting down the caravan. She's smiling happily like a silly child that's being spoiled. He's smiling too. For some reason I feel my head heat up. He also assists my mother and Sayu. They all seemed somehow to be pleased with this small gesture. I notice my father is watching too. His eyes turn to me.

"Come, let's give them water." He says as he pushes our two camestriches.

"Do you trust him father?"

"Not entirely. I do believe he's helping us get to the oasis though. After all, he needs to get there too for his son's and own survival. But he lied this afternoon."

"About the Desert Raiders, right?"

"Probably, but also about being from the Hiyama clan. Hiyamas are a nomadic clan and trade all kinds of merchandise. I've seen men from that clan when I was young. They all had dark hair and eyes similar to Ryuzaki's, but their skin was tanned by the passing of centuries. Ryuzaki is way to pale to be a Hiyama. And his son has white hair. I cannot think of any clan with this feature.

"Maybe the boy is an exception."

"Perhaps. But what bothers me the most are their eyes. Have you noticed that they are lifeless? They don't shine; don't reveal any kind of emotion and are so dark you cannot see the iris. I never saw anything like this." I pounder my father's thoughts.

"It's true, those are the most unusual pairs of eyes I've ever seen. The fact they are larger and rounder than normal bothers me too. Just like the fact Ryuzaki has no eyebrows." My father nods in agreement. "Do you think they have some kind of disease?"

"I have no idea."

We rest again at night. I go to bed with my thoughts spinning around and around in my mind. I think about my conversation with my father earlier. I think about Ryuzaki's unusual features, his peculiar presence, his apparent knowledge of the desert. He guaranteed us that we already crossed more than half of the plain to the oasis, by cutting long pieces of the desert. According to him, we should reach the Oasis of Fortune tomorrow evening. How does he know that? Where did he achieve this knowledge? And Near. Such a strange child with telepathic powers. He barely speaks, is most of the time glued to his father and barely plays.

They are, beyond doubt, the strangest people I've ever saw. But despite their peculiarities, there are moments they act like any normal person. I noticed Ryuzaki sacrificed his own food share for Near, something I'm used to see my parents do often, and the boy became restless when he was tired and sleepy like any young child. They are resting now in Sayu's little tent, while she sleeps with my parents. I wonder if they are good people as my mother claimed.

"The camestriches are sensible animals. They can recognize one with good or bad intentions. They've been calm the whole day and even let the boy pet them in the company of the father. If they were ill-intentioned people, the camestriches would have already reacted." My mother's words from tonight replay in my mind. She's rarely wrong about animals and their behavior. I do sincerely hope she's not mistaken this time.

A new day rises and promises not to be different than the days before. I stare bored at the dead land and sigh. I can feel the weight of Misa's body against my shoulder, her hand on mine, making the heat even more unbearable. Sayu is showing her collection of colored stones to Near. The child examines each and every stone with great fascination.

"Eru look!" The child happily displays a blue stone to his father.

"It's a blue eagle-eye." Ryuzaki says. The boy returns and gives the stone back to Sayu. He picks another stone.

"What's this one Eru?" Ryuzaki looks at the glitter stone.

"It's the sun's-sister. See, when you move it around, it shines like the fire star." The boy looks contented. "Why don't you ask the names to Sayu. It bet she knows them too." The child stares amazed at his father and almost frightened. He looks then at Sayu who smiles friendly at him. She shows him a red stone.

"This one is called scarlet-tear, because the marks of the stone resemble tears. It's from this region." The boy looks at her interested but hesitates. He looks again at his father. Ryuzaki nods and pushes the child's body a little on my sister's direction. He walks slowly to my sister and gives the yellow stone back to her.

"What is the name of this stone?" He points at a light lilac little rock.

"It's the Yumi flower. It's named after a princess called Yumi and it's said she had a large garden full of flowers with the same color of this stone." The boy smiles at the information and points at the next stone of his interest. Ryuzaki watches his son discreetly. He seems to be satisfied with the situation for he turns his gaze back to the desert.

I close my eyes listening to Near's and Sayu's voices. I can feel myself lose consciousness as I fall asleep. I do not know how long I sleep. It feels like only a few minutes, it feels like many hours. In this sleep I see images of horror. Images of violence. A village being attacked, people running around, screams of women and children. I see fire in the roofs, blood on the ground. A painful cry of a child. I wake up suddenly. Everybody is asleep now, except for my father and Ryuzaki, who's holding Near on his lap. I notice Ryuzaki is staring at me intently. His face looks grave. And then he turns his gaze once again to the vast barren land. I lay back and take a deep breath. I wonder if Ryuzaki was only staring at me because of my sudden awakening or was there something else?

Time passes slowly by. The sky is changing colors, night is approaching. Where's the oasis? Sayu and my mother stare worriedly at the landscape before us and exchange concerned looks with me. Near, on the other hand, is more joyful than ever. He's playing with Sayu's stones, making some kind of construction, I think. He smiles and appreciates his work when he's ready.

"Eru look!" Ryuzaki turns to look at the boy.

"I know that place." The child smiles at his father's comment.

"What's that?" Sayu asks curiously.

"This is the lake and these are the trees. And this is our caravan." The child explains, pointing to the different stones, displayed in an orderly way. I stare. A lake with trees. Could it be?

"There." Ryuzaki stands up and points straight ahead us. We all follow is index finger. At first I see nothing but the usual landscape but, as we approach, I can make out some contours. I focus this image intently and feel an extraordinary feeling of joy invade me.

"The oasis!" I scream. We all cheer from joy as the trees come closer and closer. I see my father pats friendly Ryuzaki's back. The young man smiles shyly. Our hopes are high. The Oasis of Fortune is bigger than I expected. It's full of different kinds of fruit trees, has a large pond, big enough for us all to bathe in together. When we stop Sayu and I jump right away into the pond. Misa only wets her toes.

"Brrrrrrrrr. Misa-Misa is not entering. It's too cold." Sayu and I laugh as we throw splashes of water at each other.

"Near, come and join us!" Sayu yells while she waves at him. The boy smiles happily and comes running behind us.

"Nate, wait!" Ryuzaki calls. The boy stops. "Not with your clothes on, you don't have anything else, remember?" He takes the tunic off the boy and then gives his a kindly clap on his son's bottom. "Go away." He says jokingly and the boy, for the first time, runs to us laughing loudly. He enters with a big splash. He and Sayu start playing right away. I observe Ryuzaki a while. He has the tunic wrapped on his arms and is smiling softly in Near's direction. They look like a normal family in these kind of moments. No doubt that their bond is a very strong one. The father is always patient and caring, the son extremely dependent. I wonder what happened to Near's mother.

This evening we party. We laugh and joke. There are lots of different kinds of fruit to eat and my mother already recognized some vegetables despite the dark. We eat until we are all satisfied and sit cheerfully around a warm fire, under a starry sky. We drink all the water we wish to drink and the animals rest quietly by the water. Everybody washed themselves in the pond. All except for Ryuzaki. He refused to change clothes too. He only accepted a borrowed shirt and trousers from me after I insisted repeatedly. After that he thanked me and saved the clean clothes for tomorrow. I was kind of surprise by his sudden insecurity and shyness. It contrasted so greatly with his attitude from yesterday. The more I know him, the stranger I find him as person, which makes me want to learn more about him. Who is he, his past, his story?

"Why does he call you Eru?" My curiosity is killing me. Ryuzaki stares at me with his round eyes and then looks at his son.

"It's his pet name for me, just like I call him Near." I nod in understanding and realize that I find it quite…cute.

"What happened to his mother?" I bluntly ask. I notice Ryuzaki wasn't expecting that question, for he stares at me almost shocked.

"Light!" My mother yells angrily at me.

"No, it's ok Yagami-chan." Ryuzaki calmly reassures my mother. "She died of labor, just some hours after he was born." I feel guilty for my question. It must be hard to raise a child all alone. I notice Misa swallow hard.

"I'm sorry for your loss." I say. Ryuzaki shakes his head slightly.

"It's part of life. Unfortunately she departed sooner than I wished for."

"How was she like Eru?" Near, who was building a little tower of stones, asks.

"She was a very special woman. Strong character, knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. You inherited that from her, just like her hair." He pets Near's hair as he says this. Silence falls after this. I can sense the mutual empathy from us all towards Ryuzaki.

Near heaves a big sleepy sigh.

"Time for you to go to sleep." The young father says. We wish them a goodnight and remain a while sitting by the fire. We resume our conversation and mention how glad we are to have founded the oasis and that probably meeting Ryuzaki was after all the right thing to happen. We all go to sleep and for the first time, without worries about the next day.

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**_A/N_**

**_They can finally rest. So, what are your thoughs about this story untill now? Please revieuw, love reading your comments._**


	5. Oasis of Fortune

**_Dreams are doorways to secrets that must be revealed_**

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Misa and I wait until silence is deep. I can hear the soft sound of snoring. And I can feel Misa's hands already traveling down my back, grabbing suddenly my butt cheeks and finally caressing the skin around my crouch. I breathe deep. We haven't had any intercourse the last nights, too stressed up to do anything of the kind. I turn around, kiss her passionately and caress her breasts. She lets a low moan and her fingers press my genitals, making me moan softly. We undress quickly and I lick her nipples hungrily. I can feel her fingers pressing my head to her chest.

"Misa-Misa wants to feel Light-kun inside of her." She whispers in my ear and moves her hips against mine making a point. I position myself and prepare her body.

"Your belly is in the way, turn around." She obeys me, breathing loudly. She's now on her hands and knees and moves her body invitingly.

"Hurry up Light-kun!" she excitedly begs.

"Don't forget to keep it low, I don't want to wake up anybody!"

"Yes-yes, Misa-Misa knows, she'll be quiet, just hurry up!"

I decide to please her impatience and enter my hard body inside of her. It feels so good; she's so warm and wet inside. Her hard breathing arouses me and my body travels vigorously in and out hers. We move our bodies rhythmically, bouncing together in a hot and sweaty dance. We breathe loudly and suppress fervent moans that desire to scream out madly. I can feel the climax approaching. I grab hold of her hips and move faster inside her body, making big balances so I can reach her deep. I move madly inside of her and hear Misa let out a repressed grunt. I groan as quietly as possible when I reach my orgasm. My whole body feels tired but relieved and happy. We lay side by side, still panting loudly. Misa moves her body next to mine and I can hear her breath calming down. I know that soon she'll fell asleep, which is ok. But sometimes I wished she would stay longer awake so we could do it a second time. These are the few moments I actually enjoy being with Misa.

I lay on my back, feeling Misa's warm breath sweep regularly on my skin like a morning breeze. I'm wide awake but close my eyes in hope sleep will come to me. I open my eyes suddenly. I would swear I heard the water, some kind of movement in the pond. I concentrate and stare at the darkness. I hear it again. There's definitely something in the water. I get up without wakening Misa and dress myself quickly. I step out my tent and hear again the soft mumbling of the water. I walk cautiously and prepare myself to defend myself if it's needed. In the blue glow of the moonlight I make out a shadow. It looks like…no, it is a person! But who? I steady my pace and the person in the water turns around to the sound of footsteps. I can make out the head and chest from the person bathing in the high hours of the night.

"Ryuzaki?" I ask surprised.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't, I couldn't sleep." I reassure him. "Why are you bathing now?"

"It's my own concern at what time I wish to wash myself." Despite his characteristic calm voice I notice some hostility in it. He obviously wanted to be alone.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I just thought it was strange." There is a short silence between us and I can sense his dark eyes on me, which makes me uncomfortable.

"What presents itself as strange for you might seem normal for somebody else." He simply replies. The annoyance is still presence in his voice.

"Well, just be careful not to get a cold. The air is very cool." I advice him.

"Thank you for your concern, Yagami-kun, but I think I'm big enough to take care of myself. Go back to your wife and go to sleep." I cannot help feeling somehow a bit afraid of him. I can feel the authority in his serene and low voice, which makes it scarier. I sigh defeated and I end up doing what he wants. I wish him a goodnight and he wishes me sweet dreams. What a strange fellow. Why on earth does he bath in the middle of the night?

I pull the blankets on Misa and myself and close my eyes. I listen to the soft music of water and fall asleep with footsteps gently stepping the grass. I'm asleep and dream again a restless dream.

I see houses made of clay and rock. I see men dressed in black. They have swords; they have weapons of all kinds. People are running everywhere, women and children screaming of fear. I can smell the smoke; I can see the yellow flames of fire. I'm pushed into a closet. The doors are shut before me. I want to scream, but no sound comes from my mouth. A desperate yell of a child.

I wake up sweating and panting. Misa is not in the tent anymore. I hear outside sounds of life and open the tent. I'm blinded as daylight hurts my eyes.

"Good afternoon lazy!" Sayu greets me. "We are going to have lunch soon." She cheerfully says. I look around stunned. I slept that long? I look around and notice that everybody is busy. I see my father washing the camestriches. My mother is cooking; Sayu and Misa are hanging the wash. Ryuzaki and Near are around a very high coconut tree. It's the peculiar behavior they are demonstrating right now that makes me want to come closer and watch them better.

Ryuzaki is staring closely at the coconuts. He doesn't move, just stares at them the whole time. Minutes seen to pass by. I wonder if he's trying to make them fall with his large eyes. He then moves to the tree and his hands caress the tree trunk, his eyes never leaving the coconuts. Near is observing him too. I sit down, curious about Ryuzaki's strange performance. I notice he has my clothes on.

"Are they comfortable?" I ask and know that I'm being rude for interrupting whatever he's doing. Ryuzaki stares at me surprised with his big round eyes and then looks at his clothes.

"Yes, Yagami-kun. They are very comfortable. Thank you for borrowing them."

"You're welcome." He nods politely and then his gaze goes back to the tree. Once again he places his hands on the trunk and stares at the coconuts. After a while he suddenly leans down, supports himself on one hand, and balances his whole body sending his bodyweight into the tree as he hits the trunk with his foot. At this, one of the coconuts shakes a bit and then falls down, precisely on a rock below, and breaks into two pieces. My jaw fells and I stare completely amazed. Near comes to collect the coconut pieces and brings them to my mother.

"Thank you very much. One more would be enough." She says. Near signs Ryuzaki by pointing his index finger into the air. Sayu comes to sit next to me.

"It's amazing isn't it? That was the second one." She enthusiastically says. I watch Ryuzaki look at the coconuts again and place the rock a bit to the left. He repeats the same actions as before: first he stares at the coconuts a long while, then he strokes the tree trunk while he's staring at the fruit and then suddenly he hits the tree with his foot, making the coconut fall exactly on the rock, breaking it in two. I still think it's unbelievable. Sayu and Misa are applauding and Ryuzaki smiles a bit uneasily. My mother places the two last pieces of coconuts on a big square cloth full of different kinds of groceries and calls us for lunch. A banquet worthed for a king.

«««

According to the old saying: all good things must come to an end. And indeed, before we know, three days have passed by and we must continue now with our journey. But such gratifying three days were these! We all rested down, ate and drank well and enjoyed our time in this little paradise. During this time Sayu managed to bond enough with Near for the child to run happily to her, whenever she called him. Bounding with Ryuzaki was, however, more difficult. He demonstrated to be always helpful with any task and was in general kind and polite. No doubt about it. But when we gathered to talk or play games, he always isolated himself, sitting under a tree, lost in his deep thoughts. Often Near would sit next to him and they would remain a long while in silence, or Ryuzaki would start drawing lines and circles on the ground, probably passing some knowledge to his little son. He never entered the water the same time as we did, but he always encouraged Near to do as such. And every night, as laid awake, I would hear the soft murmur of water. Strange man, Ryuzaki.

"Our village was dying." I hear my father answering Ryuzaki's question for the reason of our journey. They are sitting next to each other, just like when we travelled to the Oasis. "It didn't rain for three following years. The ground was so dry that nothing could grow in it anymore. Animals were dying from hunger and thirst. The wells were slowly drying up. The invisible hand of death took the lives of many who collapsed from new diseases. We were not the first to abandon our village and I doubt we'll be the last ones to do it." I listen to my father's words and sigh. It's all true. We tried to bring life back to the land, but the rain simply refused to come. I turn my gaze and sigh again. I watch the Oasis of Fortune shrink behind us. We are once again in the vast no one's land and stuck in it for at least another four or five days.

"It must be hard to have to abandon your home town." Ryuzaki's voice catches my attention. I hear my father answer something in confirmation but I'm not really listening to him. I would swear I heard a trace of sadness in the black haired man's words. I watch him from his profile and for one quick moment he looks older and tired. And then he's back to his usual self. I blink my eyes and wonder if the heat of the sun is making already see things.

I close my eyes, shutting myself away from this deserted world. I realize Ryuzaki is a closed book. A closed book with a big lock, a complicated one, full with riddles and puzzles to be solved in order to unveil the lock's secret combination. And I realize I crave to open this book by all means.

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_I'm so sorry for Misa/Light's scene, but they are a couple after all... _**

**_Enjoying the reading still? I love the mysteries that keep growing, just like Light curiosity. It's fun to portrate Ryuzaki all weird and wise at the same time. I'm loving it! You too? Please revieuw!!!_**


	6. Invisible Threat

**_How is the language of nature? Who hears and understands it? And how?_**

We are in our fourth day of this long and boring journey. We left early, my father with the hope of reaching the first settlement today's evening already. We travel with the regular pace of the camestriches, as usual, in the same old dull and lifeless landscape. I'm lost in my own thoughts, trying to figure out the reason for my recurring dream. Every time there is a new detail: the interior of a house, a male voice, noises of anxiety, the smell of smoke. The dream always ends the same way: with the frightening yell of a child. My mind is straining to figure out its meaning. Is it a symbolic message or a warning? A memory perhaps. A glimpse of the future? I'm thinking really hard. My eyes are directed by chance on Near, who, as usual, is sitting with his back glued to his father's, staring neutrally at nothing. He too looks bored. All in the sudden his eyes widen immensely. They become large and shinny from what I think is fear. No, more like panic. In a slip of a second he stands up and grabs hold of Ryuzaki's shirt.

"Daddy." His voice is tinny and frightened. I'm amazed for his sudden fear, but most of all, I'm surprised to hear him say "daddy". Whatever made him scared must be for real. I look at the direction Near was staring before blankly. Nothing. Just the usual red endless deserted landscape. I turn my gaze to Ryuzaki. He doesn't answer Near's reply, but I notice there's something tense about him. I'm starting to worry. By now Sayu, Misa and my mother already noticed the child's angst. He makes a little noise, close to a little cry and pulls Ryuzaki's shirt harder. But Ryuzaki ignores him still. Instead, he's static like a statue. But all his senses seem be concentrated to the direction his staring at. He looks alarmed.

"Stop here!" He suddenly orders. I notice his voice is a tone louder than normally.

"What? Why?" My father is the only one who seems to have missed Near's fearsome behavior.

"You have to stop here, right now!" His voice is almost loud enough to be a shout. My father obeys him confused. Ryuzaki jumps of the caravan. Near looks completely stressed out and presses his stuffed toy against his body, while he stares at his father. Ryuzaki walks a few paces forwards and stops. He stands there still and quiet, in full concentration. I would swear he's trying to see or hear something. Near is staring at him almost in tears. Now I'm scared too. Ryuzaki turns around to face us, his expression stern and alarmed. "Hurry, we have little time." We all stare confused at him. An explanation would be nice. "We have to place the caravan to its side and put all the heavy stuff against it from inside."

He gives us no time to question him, for he's already releasing the camestriches, placing them out of the way. My father looks still puzzled and now a bit worried too, but decides to do what Ryuzaki instructed. We all join our forces to turn the caravan to its side and place all the heavy boxes the way he wants. It almost felt like we were making an improvised barricade. But against what? I turn suddenly around. The camestiches are making weird sounds. I never heard them making these noises before and suddenly feel very afraid. They become restless and start walking from one side to the other in distress. My mother tries to calm them down.

"There must be something in the air, some kind of danger, for them to behave this manner." She says. We all stare at Ryuzaki, waiting for an answer. But he's too focused in the boxes' positioning, checking them here and there. He nods slightly like if he's telling himself that it's good like this. Ryuzaki seems satisfied. He now orders my mother to put the camestriches inside and tie them good and fast. Immediately after that, we are ordered to join the animals and sit against the boxes. Sayu distributes us blankets, according to Ryuzaki's instructions. Finally Ryuzaki takes hold of the caravan's cover cloth and together with my father and myself, we fasten it secure to the ground.

Only now do I notice a strange sound. It seems to come from far away. I hear my father call me inside, but my curiosity makes me want to see the origin of this rumble. I walk enough to be able to look behind the caravan and am terrified with what my eyes see. Before our improvised stronghold, a wall made of red and yellow millions and millions of small sandy particles flying madly in the sky, is heading our way, closer and closer. I'm paralyzed as the noise becomes louder, a horrible sound of one thousand thunders. I watch the sand storm advancing in my direction, like a ruthless monster. I feel something grab my pulse and pull me away. I enter hurriedly our safe house, panting from the shock. I look at my side and see it was Ryuzaki who pulled me back inside. His mouth is moving, but the sound of the sand storm is so loud that it's impossible to hear anything. He's gesturing in Misa's direction and I see the blond girl in tears, holding her blanked close to her chest. I immediately go to her, feeling strangely compelled to calm her down. I sit down and hold Misa in my arms. I look at my right side. Sayu is holding my father hard, her mouth is wide open, her screams muffed by the powerful roar of sand and dust. My mother is holding both Sayu and my father. Next to her are the camestriches, which are in this moment, completely in panic, their eyes widen and mouths opening and closing. I look at my left side and see Ryuzaki holding Near close to him. I can see the tears roll down the child's face, livid and terrified. Ryuzaki's eyes turn to me. He looks calm, but his eyes denounce uncertainty. I understand that he has no idea if we are coming out of this one alive. He gives me a small smile. Not one of comfort, not one of empathy, but one that smiles at the irony and cruelty of life. A smile to the fragility of our mortal life. And then he turns his gaze away and kisses his son's hair. I see the little fingers curl around Ryuzaki's arms. I wonder if we are going to die. And I know that Ryuzaki is thinking the same.

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_In this chapter I wanted to accentuate the idea that Ryuzaki and Near are diferent from other people and have speacial "talents". And of course, keep the mystery in the air. _**

**_Thank you so much for your revieuws so far!!! keep enjoying the reading and keep let me knowing what you think about the story and our mysterious friends._**


	7. The world is changing

**Our human existence is futile. We are in the hands of the gods. **

* * *

It felt like ages. The world had shrunk to an endless moment of agony. I close my eyes. All I can hear is the stormy sound piercing my ears. All I can feel is my heart beating of fear. My thoughts are praying to survive this hell. I feel so small and insignificant towards the powerful fury of nature. We're nothing but a tiny little spot in the immensity of a red desert. A small dot threatened to be blown away inside the heart of the powerful storm. We are so small and fragile. Our existence is too weak...

It felt like ages and time became nothing less than a strange notion invented by man. Did the sun already go under? Maybe a new day was born. Did it even matter? What matters anyway? Success? Love? Life? Why live when you are doomed to die one day? Any day. Like now…

It felt like ages…

***

The roar softened, the noise faded. Slowly. Little by little. As sudden as the storm had come, so it disappeared. Silence fell. We all stared a while at each other. No one seemed to dare to speak a word. No one seemed to even dare to breathe. I hear a soft sound next to me. I turn to watch Ryuzaki gently shift with Near on his arms. The young man gets up and cautiously walks to the exit. He lifts up the tent just a bit. Just enough to allow some sun rays enter. He stares outside a while.

"You can come out now. The storm is gone." He speaks in his low voice with his back to us. He steps out. I follow his example as first and hear my family follow my footsteps just behind me. I blink several times for the sunlight is very sharp. I stare at the landscape. I'm surprised. Nothing has changed. I expected to see mountains of sand, but all I saw was the same boring infinite world of red dry ground. No one would have guessed that a sand storm had passed here just moments ago.

"It's around noon." I hear my father say as he looks at the fire star's position.

"I'm afraid we lost a day, Yagami-san." Ryuzaki tells him. He puts Near on the floor. The child starts immediately examining the ground, staring at the little stones.

"What just happened here?" My mother comes, guiding the animals to the open air. "I do not recall hearing anything about storms like this in Scarlet Plane." We all fell silent and for some reason stare at Ryuzaki, all expecting that he has the answer.

"It's a rare phenomenon that's becoming more frequent. The world is changing." Ryuzaki explains.

"How did you know the storm was coming?" My father asks the same question that's been filling my mind.

"When you travel for many years, you learn to develop your senses and read the signs in the nature." I can see by the look in my father's eyes that he doesn't quite believe him. "I suggest we continue with the journey. If we leave now, we'll be sure to reach the first village before the fall of the night."

We travel again. Here and there I try to trace any kind of change in the landscape, any indication that the storm had passed. But I fail to see anything. I stare at Near, sitting protectively with his back against his father, staring at little peddles he picked up before we left. He's been examining them since we departed and I wonder what's so special about them. I close my eyes under the warm sun. I can't stop thinking about my father's question. How did he know? How did _they _know? It confuses me that not only did Near and Ryuzaki sensed the storm, but they did it way before the animals felt the danger. It was like if they had a highly developed extra sense.

Hours pass by and we finally see the first changes in the landscape. Far away, way ahead us, high mountains with some trees rise, announcing the end of this dead desert world. As we approach slowly the new landscape, the air becomes milder; I welcome the freshness of a breeze and see few thin clouds form in the sky. I see, here and there, first very seldom and later more regularly, little plants with dark green leaves and yellow flowers grow on the ground. I feel happy for witnessing the first signs of life since days. I feel even happier when we see the smoke coming from a small village nearby.

We are welcomed by some curious children. They come running behind our caravan laughing and waving at us. Near looks frightened and grasps Ryuzaki's clothes tightly. Women busy with their tasks, whether it's washing and hanging clothes or cooking a tasty meal, wave and smile as we pass by. At the center of the village a group of men, dressed in simple clothes, some made of animal skins, await us.

"Good day, travelers." The tallest, probably the leader, speaks to us. "It's not every day that a family crosses the deadly Scarlet Plain."

"Many died foolishly in those lands, going mad because of the evil spirits of the plane." An old man, with some missing teeth, tells us, eying us madly.

"Come on grandpa, those are just folk's stories." The leader says.

"Folk stories older than my bones, I'd say. Strange things do happen there. The land is cursed!" He stares at me with big eyes. I think he's trying to scare me. The leader laughs a bit and excuses himself for the behavior of the elder man.

"You must be tired. Please join us for supper. But first I'll show you where you can refresh yourselves and give some water to the camestriches." I smile happily from the thought. I'm so relieved for being with people again, away from that hot and strange desert we left behind us.

"We had a sand storm in the way…" I hear my father's voice far away. But I'm too distracted to follow the conversation. Instead, I stop walking and find myself observing the old man. He acted all crazy when we arrived, but the moment Ryuzaki stepped out the caravan, the man seemed to change completely. Everybody walked away and missed the manner the old man was suddenly silenced. He stared with wide eyes and open mouth at the black haired man. After a short while, with trembling hands, he reached for Ryuzaki's hands. I could swear I saw tears in the man's eyes, but he was laughing softly. I heard him murmur something low to the young man, but I couldn't understand. Ryuzaki then whispered something back to the old man, making him smile even more, exposing the few rotten teeths he has. Then the old man saw Near and let out a small yell of joy.

"Blessed be thy! Blessed!" He raised his hands dramaticaly to the sky as he said this. I felt very intrigued and approached in hope to listen better. Ryuzaki probably sensed me because when I came close enough I heard him say.

"After supper, old man." He spoke gently and picked up Near from the caravan. The man was still crying happily, with his hands folded like in prayer. Ryuzaki walked in my direction, Near holding his hand and smiling at me.

"I was waiting for you." I almost spoke too hastily. I didn't want him to have the feeling I was evesdropping, which, technically, I sort of was doing.

"I get you Yagami-kun." I swallow hard; this man is too astute to fall into such a lie. "If you are so curious…The old man is an acquaintance of mine from long ago." We walk together to the place my family was guided. Near peeks behind Ryuzaki and stares at me with some mischief. Obviously the child considers my curiosity and lame excuse quite amusing. We walk silently all the way and I wonder. What's long ago for Ryuzaki?

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_Alright, now our friends aren't alone anymore. Away from that strange desert land of magical mountains and misterious storms. So, what's up with the old man's behavior towards Ryuzaki and Near? Keep reading!!! Until the next update ;). Revieuw XD_**


	8. Memories of the Past

**_Our memories of the past fade away so they can, one day, happen once again_**

We diner after washing ourselves. Even Ryuzaki bathed this time, maybe because we all had private compartments. Everybody is chatting cheerfully with the village inhabitants and we tell them the sad stories about our village and our adventures in Scarlet Plain.

"We live in difficult times." The old mad man speaks. I notice he eyes Ryuzaki intently. "The golden ages are nothing than a mere vague memory. We became a shadow of our ancestors." I groan rudely, the last thing I need now is to listen to the strange stories of some demented guy. But everybody else seems interested.

"Do you know how it was in the old days?" Sayu curiously asks. I'm surprised to see a half asleep Near on her lap. The boy is hugged to his stuffed animal and stares at the old man with his eyes barely open.

"Those were the great times. Night would never fall where civilizatioon was. Men needed no hunt nor fishing. No. They had endless supplies of food, homes warmed up without wood, and even water would boil without fire. They say this was a time when man travelled as fast as a shooting star, flied high like an eagle and swam deep under water like a fish."

"So what happened?" Misa asks. I'm amazed she too is interested in this tale.

"The clash of the gods." He dramatically says. " They came to our world to save us, you know? Because men was killing Mother Nature without knowing it. " He sighed." There were many that did not trust the gods, though. Then the wars begun. Terrifying, worse than the nightmares you ever had." He points at Sayu, who frightened, shifts a bit to the side. " And so we killed our land. They say that long ago, before the wars, Scarlet Plane was a beautiful place, a paradise on Earth, with its great fields of flowers. Now it's nothing more than dead land. A cursed land. Do you know why?" Sayu and Misa shook their heads, both having no idea.

"They say that it was the place where we humans killed one of the gods." He creepily whispers. Both girls gasp surprised. I notice Near opens his eyes and stares at his father. Ryuzaki is looking with a very serious expression at the old man.

"How?" Sayu asks.

"With love." He spoke like if he was unveiling the greatest secret of the world. Sayu starses confused at the man. "The Great White Mother gave her life to protect her children. They say she killed all her children's enemies in a slip of a moment. But when she killed all those evil men, she sacrificed her own immortality and died." The girls hang on every word he tells. "The ultimate sacrifice of a mother."

Everybody is silenced.

«««

We walk quietly back to our tents. Ryuzaki and I were the last ones to leave the camp fire. We walk side by side, him carrying Near.

"Why do you dislike her?" He suddenly asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you have an aversion to Misa?" I growl, for I'm not really in the mood for this conversation.

"I never really liked her. We are only together because of some stupid old tradition."

"You should have more respect for the old ways." Ryuzaki calmly states. Then he stops. "She loves you and is carrying your baby in her womb. Why is it so difficult for you to like her back?"

"I already told you, I never liked her! She always was so pushy, always telling me we were made for each other, obsessing about me. She followed me everywhere! Do you know how it feels to be constantly followed?"

"I could have an idea." He neutrally says. "Yagami-kun, do you believe in destiny?"

"Ah, Ryuzaki. Don't give me this crap. You're not actually meaning it, are you?"

"There are things in life that are meant to happen. Whether you like it or not. They are part of a greater goal. Because every human being has a mission in his life, certain things need to happen in order to complete his purpose in this lifetime."

"So Ryuzaki, what's my mission?" I ask defiantly.

"In time. When you are ready, you'll know."

"I think you are full of bullshit."

"I think it's time you start appreciating and valorizing what you have. Not every man finds a pretty wife who adores her husband and is prepared to do anything he wishes, just to see him happy."

"I think it's time you mind of your own business. Why don't you get yourself a wife and mother for Near so you can leave everybody else alone!" I regret the very moment I speak these words. Ryuzaki stops walking and I cannot make out his expression in the dark. I feel so stupid and I cannot understand why I was so horrible. "I'm sorry Ryuzaki, I didn't mean to say that." He doesn't respond and his silence only makes me feel even guiltier. "Ryuzaki?" Without a word he turns around and walks away. "Ryuzaki!!!" I yell in vain. Father and son disappear in the blackness of the night. "I really didn't mean that. Didn't mean to hurt you." I whisper defeated. There is nothing to do. I only hope that he can forgive me in the morning.

«««

I see mountains rise high in the skies. Clouds touch the highest peaks. I watch as people go on with their daily lives, walking in strait streets between small houses made of clay and rock. I hear the sound of an eagle. The clouds move fast and dark in the skies. I have a bad feeling. Suddenly, out of nowhere tall men dressed in black appear and display swords. They burn the houses. They kill anybody that crosses their way. I'm running. I'm scared. I feel lost in the streets that move so quickly under my feet. Suddenly I'm lifted up. I hear a woman's voice. _Stay there and don't make a sound. _I'm closed in a closet. I can smell the blood and fire. The smell of death. A scream of a child.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH" I wake up screaming. Misa is sitting beside me surprised. I lie back on the bed and caress my temple. It's wet. I don't understand why I keep having this dream over and over again.

"Is Light-kun alright? Did he have a bad dream again?" She worriedly asks. I simply nod. She smiles and caresses my hair. I see pity in her eyes. "Misa-Misa is getting up, ok Light-kun?" For this time I wish her to stay but I let her go. I feel strangely frightened. I need to talk about this dream with somebody. Maybe Ryuzaki can help me. This is, if he isn't angry with me anymore. I get up too; wash my face and search of the black haired man. Despite the early hours of the morning, everybody is already occupied with all sorts of daily activities. A woman tells me where we are having breakfast and I follow her instructions in hope of finding Ryuzaki there. I find my family, but fail to see the one I seek.

"Good news Light." My father says. "We are leaving after lunch and we have an experienced guide that will take us to the Shizuoka region.**"**

"Great." I say as I break a piece of fresh bread, still feeling warm on my fingers. "Did any of you see Ryuzaki?"

"He went that direction with the old man." Sayu pointed the way. I eat fast, excuse myself and leave to search for the black haired man. It didn't take me long to find him. Near and the old man were in his company.

They had a bunch of different plants neatly harvest and placed on a rug. There were also several small vessels with seeds and liquids. Some were boiling under a small fire. I watched the three of them for a while. I understand by their conversation that they are exploring the different medicinal properties of the herbs. Some can be used fresh; others dry under the sun, used directly or in thee, and so on. I gasp softly as I come to a point when I realize that it's not the old man who's teaching Ryuzaki, but the other way around. Near apparently heard me, for he turns around to look at me. I can't help feeling uncomfortable when I see him shrink his eyes suspiciously. I wonder if he overheard us yesterday. Some more words are switched before the old man picks up some of the herbs and leaves the place after thanking Ryuzaki ceremoniously.

"Good morning Yagami-kun." Ryuzaki greets me in his monotone voice. He's speaking with his back to me and is preparing some kind of thee.

"Good morning to you too." I reply and come closer until I'm standing next to him. "May I sit here?" I hear Near make a muffed sound.

"Sure." Ryuzaki seems to ignore his son. He never leaves his eyes from the liquid with herbs in it. He steers it once in a while. "You've been having bad dreams." He calmly states. My heart bangs, how did he know that? "Misa told me during breakfast." _There! He's reading my thoughts again. _He faces me for the first time in the morning, his face very impassive. He turns his gaze again to the drink. "She's worried with you." I'm speechless, so I nod silently. He takes the drink from the vessel and pours it in a glass. "Drink this while it's warm." I stare a bit confused. "It's for your headache." I accept still very amazed. I don't recall telling anybody that I had a headache. "So tell me, what have you been dreaming?"

"Well, I've been having this dream every night since Scarlet Plain. Not only it's always the same dream, but it's becoming more detailed every time. Like if new information is being added in each dream." I notice Near staring at me interested, while Ryuzaki's gaze seems to be lost somewhere, far away. "When I dream it, I'm a spectator at first. It happens in a small village in the mountains. People are going on peacefully with their lives and then these men dressed in black start killing everybody. And suddenly I'm not a spectator anymore; I'm one of the people running away from the invaders. It always ends in the same way, I hear voices, one of them female, I'm shut in a closet and I wake up with the sound of a child's scream." I stop and wait for Ryuzaki's answer. He's very silent and is staring now fixedly at the ground.

"Your dream is an important message for you." His voice is lower than usual, like he doesn't want anybody else to listen to us. "I cannot help you with the unveiling of its meaning. But soon, you'll understand what your dream signifies." He concludes.

"Is it a glimpse of the future?" I ask with fear.

"No. "I swallow hard.

"How's your headache?" He asks me. Only then do I realize that the pain is fading.

"It's almost gone." I hear myself sounding surprised. Ryuzaki smiles contented. I suddenly remember the other reason I sought him. "Ryuzaki, I didn't want to say that last night."

"But you did."

"I know, but…" He cuts my words.

"You didn't mean it. It's ok." I smile relieved.

"So, are you packed to go?" Ryuzaki stares a bit in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we are leaving soon, my father got us a guide to take us to Shizuoka." I explain.

"Oh." The black haired man says. He gives me his typical blank stare. "Yagami-kun, as you probably recall, we agreed I would travel with you until the first village we would encounter. I have other purposes than you and your family." I regretfully remember Ryuzaki's words during our first meeting. My thoughts run quickly back to that day. The day I found Ryuzaki alone in a cavern before a grave made of stones. I have to laugh internally as I recall thinking of him as an evil men-eater spirit. How I didn't trust him back then and was the least enthusiastic in bringing him along with my family. And now I don't want to separate from this strange young father and his little son, because I fell we are becoming friends. "Don't worry, Yagami-kun. If fate wants it, our paths will cross each other again." Ryuzaki gives me a soft smile and pats my shoulder gently. I know I'm smiling back, thinking for the hundredth time that Ryuzaki must have read my mind and, for realizing that this was the first time Ryuzaki actually behaved like a real friend.

"I will miss you." I tell Ryuzaki. "And you too Near." I notice the boy is peeking from behind his father, his little hands grasping Ryuzaki's garment, just like the first time they met. Only this time, the boy looks sad. I fell a bit awkward for not knowing what to say further during this farewell. I always hated goodbyes and am lousy at it, as I so pitifully proved when we left our home town. So I get up and wave silently at my strange companions and walk away.

"Until we meet again, Yagami-kun." Ryuzaki whispered, just as his younger friend bent the corner.

* * *

**_A/N _**

**_Well, this sure was a chapter with quite a lot of information. Sorry for the moody end, though. I'm trully enjoying writting this story. its the first time I write something in this genre. And I'm sincerely very glad with the reviews I've been receiving. Knowing that you are liking the story work as a great motivation to write more. _**

**_Oh, by the way: Happy Holidays!!!_**


	9. Seven Route

**_Retelling tales is a way of remembering the forgotten ones_**

I look back at the village as we are leaving it. I look and can't help to draw a smile as I suddenly see the small white figure of Near watching us from back there. He doesn't move nor wave. He just stands firm in his place and stares at us intently. Just like he did when we was following us from the Mountain of Oblivion. Only this time I don't find it scary. We distance ourselves until the village is nothing more than a vague silhouette made of brown and yellow sandy colors. I feel a bit gloomy and I can see that Sayu feels the same way. I guess traveling without Ryuzaki and Near won't be the same anymore.

I redirect my gaze to the front seats, where my father and our guide are seated. Our guide is a merchant that trades in the different villages of this region. He was so kind in offering to accompany us further south, when the villagers informed him about us. He seems to be a kind person; however I did sense a short temper, when Misa kept making him all kind of silly questions just before we left. The man is wearing long linen shirt in cream color and dark brown trousers. His strongest feature is definitely his big and round black curly hair. He has a broad nose and friendly brown eyes. The man who introduced himself as Shuichi Aizawa travels in the Seven Route frequently for the export of textile. He's heading to ???, were his wife and daughter live, a town that lies in our way. He assured us that the route is safe from raiders because it's daily used by several merchants like himself.

We pause at lunch and sit under one of the rare big trees in the area.

"Why is this called the Seven Route?" I ask Aizawa. The man turns his head a bit to face me and smiles.

"Because we pass between the seven sacred mountains."

"Why are they sacred?"

"Because they were the homes from the children of the gods."

"You mean the Wise Ones?" Sayu asks amazed.

"Yes, unlikely many places, the people from this region had very good ties with the Wise Ones. They settled their villages on the top of the seven highest mountains and lived there for centuries." We all stared automatically at the peeks of the mountains, like if we hoped to have a glimpse of one of the villages or even of a Wise One. "They say that this region was the last home of the Wise Ones."

"They were exterminated, right?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, yes. The Truth Holders were so kind in spreading the news that they destroyed the last village and killed every single Wise One, ridding the world from the cursed race!" I can hear the revolt in Aizawa's voice. "The last children of the gods were mercilessly slaughtered 20 years ago."

"How did they look like?" Sayu asks curiously.

"To be honest I never saw a Wise One. My village had a good relationship with the Wise Ones and learned a lot from them. But the direct contact was restricted to an elected group of people. Only the three eldest men were allowed to meet the Wise Ones." He pauses and noticing our interest, continues. "It were the Wataris, the protectors of the Wise Ones, who would come to our village to pick up the Three. Even the Wataris were mysterious, their faces and bodies were always hidden under a hood and long cloths. I remember seeing them as a kid." He smiles at the memory. "Then the Three Elders travelled blindfolded to an unknown and secret place. This meeting place was never the same, it kept changing. All this secrecy was absolutely necessary. Not that they mistrusted our people, but because they feared that the Truth Holders would capture the Three and force them to denounce the Wise One's' whereabouts."

"How did they find the Wise Ones?" Sayu verbalizes my own question.

"I'm not sure. Probably they sent spies to the different villages of the Seven Route and must have followed the Wise Ones to their home villages. It's not like we could recognize a Truth Holder without a uniform, alas."

"Why did the Truth Holders wanted them dead anyway? You said they were good people?" I ask. I heard the story about the war between men and gods before, but after listening to the old man in the village by Scarlet Plane, I realized that I barely know anything about this important history chapter.

"The Truth Holders were convinced that Wise Ones were part of a great complot against humanity, an ingenious plan made by the gods. It's silly actually, but believe it or not, they were many Truth Holders in the old days."

"They thought that the Wise Ones wanted to eliminate the human race, right?" I ask, feeling more and more involved in this conversation. "Why did they think that? Did the Wise Ones ever do something wrong?"

"People fear the unknown and the Wise Ones were a mysterious race. They feared them because they could not understand them." My father speaks this time. I face him in surprise and look at Aizawa again.

"Your father is right. But it was not only fear that consumed the Truth Holders. Envy and ambition are as dangerous as fear. The Wise Ones were a very powerful race. They not only possessed an extraordinary knowledge about the world, but their strength was both physical and mental. Their bodies were stronger and more resistant than ours. It's said that, if there was a fight without weapons, there would be many strong men needed to defeat one single Wise One. But their real advantage was the mental power. It's said that a Wise One could make a man mad just by looking into his soul. And that's the reason the Truth Holders wished them dead. And they achieved that too, after all these years."

"Wow, they were a super race." Misa speaks in wonder.

"Well, that didn't stop the Truth Holders to kill them." Aizawa regretfully says. He drinks his last sip of water.

"What about the Prophecy?" Sayu asks. I stare amazed at her and my family too, not having any idea of what she means.

"Now, that's something that almost nobody remembers in these days." Aizawa claims surprised. "By the looks of your folks, I'm guessing you weren't educated with this story." Sayu shook her head.

"It was Ryuzaki who told me." I gasp surprised. Since when does she talk with him? "He told me that after the death of the White Great Mother, everybody was abandoned by the gods in a world that was dying quickly. But then a Wise One had a vision of the future, clamming that one day a Wise One would rebuild the bridge between people and gods."

"When did he tell you that?" I ask in a demanding tone.

"Yesterday morning, before you all came for breakfast. I woke up very early and then found Ryuzaki and Near. I asked him if he knew what happened after the White Great Mother died and he told me the story about the Prophecy." She explains honestly. "Why?"

"Oh well, I never really thought that you and Ryuzaki got along." I respond a bit irritated.

"Well, for your information, we do get along very well!" Sayu answers equally irritated. "Don't think you're the only one who talks to Ryuzaki."

"Kids, please." My mother intervenes and is all she needs to say. We both stop but switch angry looks.

"Misa-Misa doesn't understand why Light-kun and Sayu-chan want so much to be friends with Ryuzaki. He's so…weird! And ugly too."

"Misa!" Both Sayu and I yell in unison.

"Ryuzaki isn't that strange, he's just…different." I find myself justifying the black haired man's strange behavior.

"Yeah, and he isn't that ugly either." Sayu mumbles too. My parents are staring at us grumpily and Aizawa's expression has mix of shock and amusement. He makes a sound like if he's clearing his trough.

"But getting back to the young miss's question, what your friend told you is true. A Wise One was to come and bring back order to the world. It would announce the beginning of a new golden era, when humanity would redeem itself and gods would forgive us for our faults. The world would be beautiful again and balance would be restored." Aizawa sighs. "But this will never happen, because the Truth Holders managed to kill every Wise One, preventing the Prophecy from happening." We end our lunch with this sad conclusion.

The days pass as we travel in the arid valley of the Seven Route. Fortunately there are life signs to see everywhere. Little animals that peeks from behind the rocks as we pass by, an eagle flying way above us, other travelers that cross by us and exchange information about the travel.

"Are you taking the Short or the Long Pass?" A traveler asks Aizawa. His wagon is full of barrels with wine that only can be produced in the south.

"The Short Pass." Aizawa answers.

"Uhg, you better take the Long Pass then. There's been a great storm two days ago by Strait Shaft. You wouldn't believe your eyes if would saw it. I know I didn't. It's been pouring liters and liters of rain for hours back there, with a lot of thunder and wind. The dry bed of Strait Shaft is now a wild river of mud. There's no way people can cross it for a while." We gasp in surprise. We did see a very dark sky far far away from us and at night we heard a rumble in the distance, but a storm like this was an extremely rare happening. Aizawa thanked the man for the information and after that he turned to us.

"Well, I guess we'll be taking the Long Pass, after all."

"And which way is the Long Pass?" My father asks.

"It's a way that crosses that mountain over there. We go around the Strait Shaft through the hills. It's a less used way because it's longer and more tiring with all the climbing, but it will take us back to the main road of the Seven Route." He explains

We stop first by a village in the valley, for a short rest and to take some provisions. Aizawa takes the change to trade some of his colorful fabrics. He confirms the other man's story about the storm, when he met with other merchants who had crossed the Strait Shaft just before witnessing the storm. This storm seems to be the talk of the day, since rain is a rare occurrence in this region, even more a storm with such a magnitude. I had to think about the sand storm in Scarlet Plain and Ryuzaki's words _The world is changing. _I wonder how he is and if he sensed this storm too? I sigh as I come to the conclusion that I probably will never have the answer to that question. My thoughts are interrupted as Aizawa comes to our caravan looking happy, while he holds a little bag that seems to be heavy with coins.

"Now, that was a good sell. My wife will be very happy. She's the one who does the weaving." Sayu and Misa release sounds of amazement, probably both thinking about new pretty clothes. "Well, shall we go?"

And so we resume our journey, through the Seven Route, by taking the Long Pass.

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_Well, I managed to write another chapter between the holidays. Yeay!!! The travel without Ryuzaki and Near is not half as fun, but its absolutly necessary (you'll understand later on ;») I'm really happy with the character of Aizawa. He has a whole new profession and relation with the Yagamis, but his true personality remains unchanged. _**

**_How are you finding this story and its myths arount it until now? Let me know! Revieuw!!!_**


	10. Forgotten no more

**_Tell me sun, what vile happenings have you witnessed? Whisper to me wind the sad voices of truth. Tell me human, why are thy so cruel?_**

The travel in the Long Pass is a quiet one. The camestriches walk slowly for the way is steep and the caravan heavy. The landscape is not as boring as Scarlet Plain, by the contrary; the high mountains present impressive patterns in their rocky structure, like if a giant has been sculpturing them. The vegetation is mostly made of small plants and bushes, for the floor is quite arid. Sometimes I spot an animal. I've seen little birds chasing insects, Sayu spotted once a wild fox hiding between the rocks and Aizawa run off a snake while we were eating lunch (and that was quite a laugh, I swear the man turned into all kind of colors). We keep climbing and climbing and in the second night we rest in the highest point of our journey in the Long Pass. Tomorrow we'll start our descend.

The air here is quite cold, so Misa and I wrap ourselves in warm blankets. When I fall asleep, I find myself being forced to dream the dream that is so well known to me. Only this time it happens differently. It happens backwards.

It starts with a scream. The child's scream that always wakens me up. Then suddenly I'm pulled off the closet. I leave a house. I run back the street where the black dressed men violently attack everything around them. I'm leaving the village. I enter a small path made of little stones, almost hidden between large rocks. I see a cactus with three branches. A mouse runs on front of my feet. I'm descending and descending until I reach an open clear. I open my eyes suddenly.

My heart is beating hard, not of distress but because I have an extraordinary feeling. I get up and take one of the blankets to warm myself up. I step outside and smile, looking at the white full moon that illuminates my surroundings. I look around and recognize the open clear where my dream ended. It's where we are camped. I recognize some big rocks I just saw in my dream. I climb them and see the beginning of the small and strait way I just walked during my sleep. Without thinking, I follow the almost invisible path in the moon's pale light. I notice I'm climbing, coming closer to the mountain's very top peak. Suddenly I stop. A little mouse crosses my way. I look up and see the cactus with three branches. I run to its direction and climb up the rocks. I climb and climb and finally stop. Although I'm short of breath from the fast climbing, I cease breathing for some seconds.

I can't believe what my eyes are seeing. I even pinch myself to be certain that I'm still not dreaming. The moon is so close and its light falls on the mountain making my night sight ever so clear. Before my eyes, I see, the little village with houses of clay and rock. The same village that's been reappearing in my dreams.

I come closer and enter the main road. I recognize it as the road I keep running in my dreams. Even though it's relatively dark, I can see that the houses are ruined and abandoned for several years. I stop at a house on my left. I push a wooden door so I can look inside. The door fells, making a loud racket. I feel like I'm disturbing the silence that has ruled here for a very long time. The noise feels uncomfortably unwelcome. I take a deep breath and peek inside the dark room. I make out a wooden chair and a table fallen on the ground and a burned bed. Objects lie scattered around, a memory of a fight that took place here, long ago. It gives me the chills. I return to the street. At a certain point I step on something. I bend to look closer at it. It's too dark to see what it is, so I rely on my touch, my fingers trying to reconstruct its form. I gasp in shock when I realize that I'm touching a bone. And not just a bone, a human one. I stand up immediately and strain my eyes to see better in the dark. The soft pale light illuminates the street. I realize that the silhouettes on the floor made of dark and white parts, are actually dead bodies. It's seems time has frozen in this village, remaining untouched since its attack. I walk cautiously between the murdered villagers. I notice the sky is becoming a shade lighter of blue. Soon a new day will rise. But not for these people.

I continue walking and recognize the house I always enter in my dream. I do not need to see in the dark to know where the closet is. I walk to it and am surprised that it's almost intact. I feel overwhelmed to be in its presence. I sit down on the floor and watch as the shadows slowly dissipate and invite the warm yellow light to illuminate the interior of this house. The closet before me is made of dark wood and is not very big. I realize that an adult would never fit in it. I'm not surprised with this discovery. I always had the feeling that my visions were those of a child. The child that always screams in my dream. I look up. There's a hole on the roof, burned by the fire. I see the blue sky and know that my family must be worried sick with my disappearance, looking for me everywhere, calling out my name. But somehow I don't really care.

I found the village of my dream. A village hidden at the highest peak of one of the Sacred Mountains. A village from the Wise Ones. The last village being destroyed by the Truth Holders. The home of innocent people. Home of a child.

I wonder who this child was.

I sigh. Ryuzaki was right when he told me that things would fall into place by themselves. That it was not a glimpse of the future. No, it's a memory from the past. A past before my time. I wonder if the child was some past life of mine. Otherwise, why would I remember this horrible episode?

I lift myself up and turn around. I see the remains of what was a woman long ago. She still has hair, black like coal. Her mouth is open from her last scream. I look at her face and stare at the two empty holes where her eyes were once ago. I morn for her. I morn for this dead mother and her dead child. I morn for all these poor villagers. Victims of one stupid conviction, of human cruelty and violence. I morn for the all the people who live in this world shaped by destruction. I morn for my unborn child. I realize that nobody should live in such a cruel and mad world. I wish people would have been more sensible in the past and used their brains instead of their weapons. I wish that the Wise Ones were still alive. I wish the world was a good, warm and safe place. I wish so much…

«««

"Light! Oh my god, Light! Where have you been?" My mother yells furiously at me. I know her anger is the response of her unconditional love for me. The picture of the murdered mother comes to my head. "We were worried sick!"

"I'm sorry." I politely apologize. I turn when I hear a horrible high pitched scream.

"LIGHT-KUN!!!!" Misa runs to me with tears in her eyes and hugs me very tightly. Hell, she's suffocating me. Then suddenly she starts hitting my chest with her fists. "Why Light-kun run off like that? Misa-Misa and his family were so worried!!!" She yells in rage. Then her tone changes again, her eyes fill with tears. "Misa-Misa was so scared." She rests her head and her hands on my chest. "Misa-Misa is happy Light-kun is back, safe and sound." She says with a gentle voice.

I notice everybody has reached me and are all looking angrily at me. My mother, my father, Sayu and even Aizawa (man, he looks scary). I understand they are all waiting for an explanation so I softly push Misa away and sign for the others to sit down. Once everybody is seated, I tell them what I saw.

"T-That's amazing!" Aizawa is truly surprised. "Please, you must show me this place." I nod in agreement.

"I'll go too." My father speaks.

The women show no interest in going to the ghost village and it's definitely not advisable for a pregnant woman to do such a journey and watch such a sight. When we reach the end of the path, both my father and Aizawa gasp in horror. Now the village is well illuminated and the destruction is clearly visible. The houses' walls and rooftops are ruined, burned and collapsed by the time. The copses lying on the streets and inside the houses are a horrific testimony of the tragedy that took place in this village.

"They all had dark hair." Aizawa points out. I look around and confirm the man's statement. Every single person in this village had black hair. It must be a racial feature of the Wise Ones. He bends and examines the bodies closer, checking the fabrics of their clothes. "I think you're right about this being the last village destroyed. This kind of degradation in the material is from around 20 years ago. It's truly unbelievable."

We head back to our camp side, after staring at the dead village for a while. We decide to leave things untouched. We somehow feel that we have no right to intrude this village and burying the bodies feels, oddly enough, simply wrong. We respectfully leave the place as it rested, 20 years ago. And we also agree not to tell anybody of its whereabouts.

"So…how was it?" Sayu asks cautiously.

"It's too horrible." It's all what my father says.

And with this, we pack up our stuff and resume the rest of our journey in the Long Pass. We descend and once in a while, we cross with another traveler, also forced to take this way, due to the flooded Strait Shaft. At a certain point, we hear a rumble sound of water. It's only after a while that we see the river. The once dry Strait Shaft had become a wild river made of dangerous muddy currents. No doubt that, if someone was to be unfortunate enough in falling there, that he would be dragged by the currents and would eventually drown. We finally reach the end of the Long Pass. I turn to look back at one of the seven sacred mountains. The one mountain where I found the destroyed village. The village I already knew before I got to it. I shiver.

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_My excuses for the late update, but I have a new temporary job (yeaaaaah) that's kind of taking my productive time for FF. _**

**_So the pieces of the puzzle start fitting,l slowly. I had this chapter so visualised in my mind, that it made I had to write and rewrite so it would fit my imagination. I'm quite happy with the result and it was one of my favorite chapters to write until now. The question now is: whose memories are these?_**


	11. Judgement

**_I was born and you loved me. I was hated and you killed me. I am reborn...what will you do now?_**

After stopping by another two villages in the way, we arrive at Aizawa's home town Kozai. The man happily guides us through the busiest street. He told us that there was everyday an open market and we look around at the diverse products that are being sold. The tents dispose colorful products such as flowers, minerals, spices, jewelry, clothing and food. Aizawa greets the merchants as he passes by, some asking if he had a safe journey. Suddenly we hear a child's happy yell.

"Daddy! You're back!!!" A little brown haired girl comes running to Aizawa. The man opens his arms and catches his daughter when she jumps to him. There are kisses and laughter shared, and we all smile at the affectionate scene. A lady with brown hair comes from behind a tent with multicolored fabrics.

"Darling, you made it." She approaches her husband and greets him with a kiss on the lips. "I heard about Strait Shaft, some merchants returned because of the journey's dangers." She expresses her worries, holding her husband's hands on hers.

"I took the Long Pass, so it was ok." He reassures her. "I want to introduce you to the Yagami family." He gestures at us and we all bow politely. "They came from lands beyond the Scarlet Plain." He tells her.

"Wow, you really must have some interesting stories" We all nod in agreement. My memories go back to our adventures in the Mountain of Oblivion and the strange sand storm. It feels like it happened long ago, but actually only a few weeks passed since then... Aizawa and his wife whisper something to each other and then the man with the big curly hair turns around smiling at us.

"You can stay in our house and rest there for some days. It's not very big, but we have enough space for you all."

"We don't want to bother you." My father speaks right away, but Aizawa shakes his head and looks at him with a stern expression.

"Don't be silly, we would love to have your company, besides, you all look like you could have a good rest." My father dares no more to refuse the kind invitation and we follow him. Aizawa's home in indeed not very big, but has one spare bedroom and a large living room.

"You kids will have to share the living room. I have spare mattresses and a single bed for Misa."

"But Misa-Misa wants to sleep with Light-kun!" The blond girl complains. I feel so irritated for her rude behavior.

"Misa you stay in the spare bed. It's better for you condition…" My stupid hysterical wife cuts my words.

"Misa-Misa is perfectly fine! She's pregnant, not sick! Misa-Misa is tired of being treated like a handicap!" I can see Aizawa is starting to lose his patience with the girl, his freaking vein on his temple is starting to grow again.

"Misa, you're embarrassing me." I whisper to her while I eye angry Aizawa. "It's only for a few days. Please, just accept it. Besides, we are sharing the room with Sayu, remember?" I speak with my teeth clenched, trying to keep my cool. Why in the hell did I have to marry her anyway? She looks a bit stupidly at me and then smiles happily, hugging me.

"If that's what Light-kun wants, then Misa-Misa will sleep in the spare bed." Then she crosses her arms. "But Misa-Misa will feel veeeeery lonely." I grunt. I feel like vomiting.

And so we decide to stay some days in Aizawa's home. During our stay we were completely spoiled by his wife, who cooked us delicious treats. We also could bath in warmed water, which was wonderful. Sayu, Misa and I spend our time visiting the different sights of the town. It was quite big and populated and I loved to walk in the streets full of people. I truly adore civilization in contrast with the isolated surroundings we've seen the last weeks. It's the first time I actually feel happy since a long while. I wish for our stay in Kozai to be longer than just a few days.

«««

I wake up from a dreamless night. But instead of waking up with the sound of birds chirping happily, I wake up with the sound of many angry voices. I open my eyes and notice it's already day. Sayu and Misa are looking outside from the window.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"I don't know. There are lots of people running to the same direction." Sayu says. "I'm going to see what's going on. You coming too? " I nod, lift myself up and dress quickly. The three of us leave the now empty house and follow the mob.

People are screaming and gesturing madly. I wonder if a criminal was caught. We reach the centre of the happening and I can see the crowd had encircled a small group of men. I move closer to get a better look and gasp shocked with what I see. Four men dressed in black are holding captive a fifth man. I recognize the long black tunic and wide black trousers from my dreams as the Truth Holders' uniforms. They also have swords on their belts. The man held hostage is chained by his wrists and ankles, strongly secured by three Truth Holders. His face is hidden behind an iron mask. I feel sick when I notice the particularities of this mask. It's made in a way that it covers the whole head. The place where the holes for the eyes should be, are sealed but there are openings for the nose and mouth. Obviously that these guys don't want the man to be able to use his vision. I shiver. _It's said that a Wise One could make a man mad just by looking into his soul._ Aizawa's words replay on my mind. Could this imprisoned man be a Wise One?

The oldest Truth Holder addresses the crowd, while the other three hold their hostage firmly.

"Behold, ladies and gentleman! I, Eiichi Takahashi, present you the last survivor of what people call the Wise Ones." I hear voices of shock and surprise.

"The last Wise Ones were all killed 20 years ago!" a man shouts out. The Truth Holder looks at the mob and spits on the floor.

" Yeah well, we might had lied a bit about it. You see, we did destroy the last village of the cursed race, but there was one who escaped. A child rescued by a Watari." His face contorts with despise. "The bastard nearly killed me, but I lived to pass on what I witnessed." He laughs madly. "We fooled you all! We made the world believe that all Wise One's were dead. The world was too distracted to offer us any hindrance in our search. And as for this freak…"He stares with hate at the chained man. "…we let him grow in confidence, so one day he would dare to crawl out of his hole and merge with our kind." He laughs again hysterically. "Oh, we were so patient. We searched and searched in secret during these 20 long years, and finally we found him." He smiles evilly.

"How are you so sure this is the person you were looking for? We cannot see his face, besides, it's said that they look very much like any random person. How do we know you didn't just catch anybody?" Another voice in the mob is heard. Takahashi's smile widens. He grabs the captured man by his arm, pushing him closer to the public. The chained man stumbles and nearly falls, he's probably weakened.

"Want to know how I confirmed this is really the escaped Wise One?" He turns the man with his back to us and pulls his shirt up. Everybody gasps in horror and I feel myself take a step behind. There's a large burn scar across the man's back. The image of the village being burned comes back to my mind. The child in the closed. The horrible scream of pain... "Before that bastard of a Watari came, I wounded the child's back with a flare." He proudly tells and releases the man's shirt. I notice that the other three held the man's chains steadfastly the whole time. _It's said that, if there was a fight without weapons, there would be many strong men needed to defeat one single Wise One. _I remember Aizawa's words. They must be scared this man might fight them, so they chained him in a way his movements are very limited. I look better at his body structure. He's actually very slender; I doubt he's that strong, probably it's just a myth. Besides, he hasn't showed any intentions to struggle the entire time. He's probably too weak and terrified to do something. I feel revolted.

Suddenly people start screaming. Takahashi just took his sword out and was gesturing the others to come closer with their hostage. They make the Wise One fall to his knees and push his head back, exposing his neck. Takahashi prepares to cut the hostage's neck and everybody is screaming from anger and fear. Suddenly, a rock hits the Truth Holder's head. The man lets out a loud scream and drops his sword. He puts his hand on the hit spot and I can see blood.

"Who the hell threw that stone?" He demands angrily.

"I did!" A determined voice comes from the right side of the crowd. A young man with black long hair and glasses steps forwards. He looks confidant and stares right into the Truth Holder's eyes. "You have no right in killing this man." The Truth Holder looks madly at him.

"Oh really? Give me a good reason why I shouldn't."

"In first place, he's a person like you and me, and therefore he has the right to live. Secondly, the Wise Ones weren't called wise for nothing. It was a race with great knowledge. And he for being the last survivor must remain alive to pass on this knowledge." He determinately states. Takahashi laughs crazily again, but the other three look tense.

"Just finish the job." One of them says. The older man stares upset at his colleague and then faces the young man that just dared him.

"In first place, he's not a person like you and me. He's part Creator, part human. Nature's atrocity. A freak!" He pushes the captive man emphasizing his point."Secondly, it's thanks to his race that our world is the way it is. Dead! And dead he must be, it's what he deserves."

"I will not allow it!" the young man shouts and takes another step forward, but one of the other Truth Holders pulls out a sword and points it at him. The man stops angrily.

"Cowards!!!"

Takahashi smiles devilishly. He once again grabs the head of the defenseless man and his arm rises in the sky, holding the shinny sword. I hear myself yell NO, but there's another voice that's heard above all voices.

"DADDY!!!" I redirect my gaze to the source of this voice and my eyes follow a small child running out the crowd. The Truth Holder stops his movement surprised with this second interruption. His eyes widen.

"Oh no, it has offspring." The man seemed to say this to himself, but I heard him loudly and clear.

"No go back!" The captured man scream's out.

I feel my heart bang. I feel dizzy. I stare from the child to the hostage. I'm paralyzed as I realize who the man kept held is. I want to act, I want to help him, but my body refuses to obey. I watch petrified, as the moments that follow seem to suddenly slow down.

Takahashi eyes shrink maliciously. He leaves his prisoner, who is still kneeled on the floor with the chains strictly held by the other three Truth Holders, to take a step closer to the child. I can see the hate in his eyes and his intentions become clear to everybody. The child freezes on front of him. Suddenly somebody in the crowd pushes people away and runs to the scene. All my blood drains down when I see Sayu, my little sister, rush to the child and grab him right in front of the dangerous Truth Holder. The man stares at her only one moment surprised. The hate returns to his eyes and with a loud yell he raises the sword to the air. My scream is muffed by the scream of many.

Suddenly, the man behind the mask budges. He moves his body swiftly and pushes the chains with an incredible force. The other Truth Holders are taken by surprise and the man manages to move himself freely despite all the chains. Takahashi turns around, hearing the loud noise of chains flying around. He barely has time to see the fist that hits his face powerfully. Takahashi screams painfully, putting his hands around his face. Blood is running between his fingers. The captive man pulls the chains in his favor, dragging the other Truth Holders altogether. Their efforts in dominating him are worthless. With another agile movement, his hand touches the floor and his foot travels in the air, hitting the oldest Truth Holder right in his stomach. Takahashi lands on the ground with a painful impact.

The other three Truth Holders pull the chains again, with more force, but the hostage resists. His stance is an impressive one. He stands strong like a rock, with his fists close, arms slightly raised, legs departed and feet planted on the ground. The three men look scared when they realize their efforts are futile. The tables have turned and now it's the Wise One who's in advantage. In a desperate attempt to defeat the strong man, the three Truth Holders decide to attack him with their swords. They run towards him. But their assault is blocked again and again. It's a fierce and impressive combat. It's like if the Wise One can sense every single movement the others make, even though his eyes are covered. He knows how to evade the sharp weapons, moving fast and swiftly. He blocks each attack with his arms and feet. Every movement of the three Truth Holders is blocked by a faster and stronger single man. They fight him uselessly. Takahashi, still lying on the floor stares at the fight shocked. With fear imprinted in his face, he witnesses the hostage becoming the attacker and watches him defeat the other three Truth Holders with his faultless punches and kicks.

It all happens very fast and ends ever so quickly. In no time, four Truth Holders are laying on the floor, rolling and moving around from the pain, some with their hands glued to their face, others to their stomach. The hostage stands straight and impressive, his chest moving fast up and down from the quick breathing, blood staining his clothes around his wrists and ankles, from the violent pulling and pushing of the chains. Some people from the crowd rush to arrest the four men in black. Sayu is still standing in the same position with the little child on her arms.

The young man with the long black hair and glasses takes the iniciative to search Takahashi and finds the keys from the chains. He approaches the captive man, who budges a bit, alarmed.

"It's ok. I have the keys to release you."

Once the Wise One is calm, the other one frees his wrist and ankles. He unlocks the iron mask. His face is finally revealed. Wild black hair is glued to the temple, there are red and swollen marks around the eyes and cheeks, from the hard iron pressed against his face. He's blinking his eyes from the pain, not used to the bright sun.

"Daddy!" The child releases himself from Sayu, jumps to the floor and runs to his father. The man opens his black eyes completely and crouches to embrace his son. He hugs the child tightly, desperately. I can hear him say to the child over and over "It's ok, everything will be fine". All the pressure that has been building up in him, from all the years of living in fear, finally is released. He breaks down and starts crying, holding his son tightly against him. The mob is silent. I see Sayu come closer and crouch to their level. The man stares amazed at her. She smiles at him and puts her arms around him and the child. She comforts them and after a short while the young man calms down.

"Thank you." He whispers. His temple is pressed against Sayu's and both smile softly. They remain like this for a while until the young man who defended the Wise One earlier approaches. Both Sayu and the Wise One stand up.

"My name is Teru Mikami. My grandfather was one of the Elders."

"Nice to meet you Teru Mikami." The Wise One speaks. "I am Ryuzaki, from the Lawliet clan."

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_Puffffff, now this chapter was really hard to write. Just like the one before, I had the whole fight scene imprinted in my mind and it was quite a chalenge to picture it out the way I wanted. I wanted to make it exciting, create some stressing moments._**

**_So this is the point that the whole story was been announcing. L's true identity is revealed but a lot had to be revealed still. _**

**Takahashi, the oldest Truth Holder, is one of the Yotsuba members from Death Note. So figure out... In the manga, Takahashi is the second oldest of the team and is considered a fool, so I decided to depict him as a fanatic and hysterical Truth Holder. I thought it fitted him.**

**The mask that L was wearing is inspired in the one from the movie "The man behind the iron mask", but with the eyes seaded instead.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you thought of it. Revieuw!!! ;)**


	12. The Wise One's friend

**_Behold Humans, for the promised One has arrived. Cherish him. Love him. Learn from him._**

* * *

There was a time when the world was dead. The ground was dry and barren. Vegetation became scarce, animals and people suffered starvation. Diseases and hunger followed.

There was a time when only the strongest survived. Many died too young, few reached the old age. It was a time of great sorrow, regret and morning.

And this is the time I'm living in.

We all knew it: we are paying for the faults of our ancestors. The same ancestors that lived a Golden Era, worshiping the false god Techno. The same ancestors that received help from the Creators and lived a privileged life in the presence of our gods. The same ancestors that betrayed the gods and all people. The ones who started the wars that killed and destroyed everything.

And why? Because a radical group named spread a false rumor. A lie that infected the hearts of many, corrupting the minds of people. Why did people believe in such a rumor? Maybe because it's in the nature of humankind to suspect. Maybe it is in our nature to feel threatened by any entity more powerful than us. Because people desire power and control of all situations. Because in truth we are insecure. Yes, it's part of the human nature not to trust.

Our ancestors betrayed everybody and everything. The Creators, the Wise Ones, the planet, the animals. Every single living being suffered the consequences of false judgment.

And now we suffer.

And morn.

And regret.

But the world is changing.

And a new hope has arisen.

Today the world witnessed an amazing happening. An event that presented itself as a miracle for many and as a curse for others. Something so great and special that it gave hope to many empty hearts, bringing back the light into the lives of those who were lost in the darkness.

Today the world witnessed the rise of the Wise One. A man whose story is as old as time itself. A legend that already felt like a vague dream. A man the world desired and waited already ages before his birth. The last survivor of a divine race. He came to fulfill an old prophecy, to reestablish the long lost bond between Creators and Mankind. A man that came to bring the end of the time of despair, pain and death, bringing back the Balance to the world. One man that carried so many responsibilities, high hopes and expectations. But one thing this Wise One knew: he was not alone in this mission.

* * *

I'm sitting in the living room of a stranger. Before me sits a friend, who once was just a traveler companion, and before that he was a stranger too, mistaken by an evil spirit of a magical mountain. On his lap is the child that set motion to this whole situation. His eyes and his thoughts kept bringing us back to the same spot. To a cursed mountain that held within it a blessing. The last survivors of a great race. The main protagonists of an old and almost forgotten prediction.

_"My name is Teru Mikami. My grandfather was one of the Elders." _

_"Nice to meet you Teru Mikami. I am Ryuzaki, from the Lawliet clan."_

Just minutes ago I had witnessed the inconceivable fight between one skinny Wise One and four strong Truth Holders. Just minutes ago I thought I was about to see three beloved ones die before my eyes but surprisingly enough, they were all spared.

Saved.

But by whom, or by what? My thoughts replay the events that just took place. I wonder if this great tragedy was avoided by the revolted crowd that insisted in delaying the Truth Holders' actions, and Mikami who stood before Takahashi, and Sayu who grabbed Near just in front of Takahashi's murderous eyes and finally Ryuzaki, who so appeared so passive, obviously faking the whole time that he was weak and defeated, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Or was this all fate?

One complicated plan designed by a greater power. A power that sets all things into motion, guiding the actions and decisions of several participants to one point.

_"Yagami-kun, do you believe in destiny?"_ Only now I understand Ryuzaki's words, only now do they make sense. _"There are things in life that are meant to happen."_

Were we meant to leave our home town and take a dangerous trip through the deadly Scarlet Plain so we would meet Ryuzaki and Near?

"_every human being has a mission in his life, certain things need to happen in order to complete his purpose in this lifetime." _I'm starting to wonder what my mission in this life is. I survived the hunger and diseases of my town, I survived a travel in a merciless desert and I survived a sand storm. I've been hearing more stories about the Golden Ages and Wise Ones the last days than I've heard my entire life, I've been traveling with two children of the gods without even knowing it, I dreamt _his_ memories and found _his_ home town, dead and lost in a place where time no longer exists.

I stare at Ryuzaki's smiling eyes and I wonder if he's listening to my thoughts. I feel happy. Happy to have my friend back. I feel honored. Honored to be in the presence of a Wise One and being able to call him my friend. I feel scared. Scared for a future that lies unknown and unpredictable before me. I realize I'm not meant to continue my journey with my family anymore. I realize I'm part of this greater plan conceded by a higher power. I feel courageous. Courageous and ready to take a journey that has been written long before my time. And I feel humble. Humble as a person belonging to an ignorant and destructive race. Humble as a human that was somehow chosen to be friends with a Wise One, a legendary man, famous already before his birth. I smile back at him.

_"It would by my honor to receive you in my home. I can treat your wounds and give you something to eat and drink."_ Mikami had spoken after he and Ryuzaki introduced to one another.

_"I am very grateful._" The black haired man said. I looked around and noticed the mob watched Mikami and the two last survivors of the Wise Ones with great awe and respect. _"Can my friends join us?"_ Mikami stared a bit confused at Ryuzaki, for he only saw Sayu standing next to the other man. "_Come on Yagami-kun."_ Ryuzaki raised his voice only a bit and gestured in my direction to follow them. Heads turned and stopped on me, realizing by my reaction that I was the other friend. The people made space for me to walk, creating a corridor of men. I noticed as I walked by, people staring at me with admiration and the same respect they showed for Ryuzaki. I saw Aizawa with his daughter among them who greeted me with a smile. Apparently I had just become somebody important. I was the friend of the Wise One.

The four Truth Holders were taken to prison and would stay there until their trial. It was clear that the good memories of the Wise Ones' influence in the Seven Route region was still well imprinted in the people's mentality. They cherished the superior race. They were not afraid of them for they trusted them with all their hearts. Something that looks very easy, but in fact, takes a lot of courage and humility.

The inhabitants of Kozai followed us in a silent procession, where only once in a while a suppressed whisper was heard. We entered Mikami's modest but cozy home. The young man was a kind host, treating carefully Ryuzaki's cuts and bruises, comforting everybody and offering us warm thee with some dry fruit.

And now we are sitting in a house of a descendent of the Elders. Before sits Ryuzaki of the Lawliet clan, staring at me with his smiling eyes. This Wise One who's the main character from an old and almost forgotten prophecy. A child of the gods destined to help Mankind. My friend.

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_Loved to write Light's reflections. He's a proud young man that's about to get involved in a great quest. Keep enjoying your reading and never forget to write down your own thoughts about the story ;)_**


	13. Secret Life

_**Destiny. Such a strong, cruel power! Impetious maker of tears, maker of pain. Destiny. Sweet maker of love and hope. **_

"I am sorry for all the secrecy" Ryuzaki finally speaks, breaking the contemplative silence. His bony fingers surround the cup of warm thee and he drinks a sip of it. His lips smile only very gently, the warmth of the drink is surely welcoming. He's gaze shifts from the mug to his son Near, who's now sitting on the floor, playing with rectangular white and black stones, pilling them like tall skinny towers.

"Not like you had a lot of choice." I find myself justifying for his actions. I can hear outside the rumble of the people that followed us to Mikami's place becoming softer. Maybe the people decided it was time to go back to their daily routine. Ryuzaki stares at me with a thoughtful expression and bows his head to the side.

"No." He answers after considering it a few seconds. He looks lost in his world of thoughts. Somehow I have the feeling they are returning to his past. Both Mikami and Sayu are staring at Ryuzaki expectantly. "I lived hidden from the world for 15 long years. I _had_ to live in absolute secrecy. And therefore, I was forbidden to contact with whosoever without the consent and supervision of a Watari. It was necessary to protect our lives." He turns his gaze to me. "I was 5 years old when my home village was destroyed. All the people I knew died. I saw them being slaughtered in the streets, I witnessed my own mother being murdered." Despite the calm tone in his voice, I can sense the pain of his memories. "She hid me to protect me." I close my eyes and repress the fury and revolt inside of me. I remember the hurried voice of his mother before hiding him in the shelf. Her dead body, abandoned and forgotten, like the rest of the villagers. Is so unfair, too unfair! Ryuzaki's voice brings me back to the present. "The Truth Holders were clever. They caught everybody out of guard. They just appeared from nowhere, started burning everything around and killing everybody who would cross their paths. Nobody had time to react. Instead people panicked and tried desperately to save their lives and those of their loved ones. Confusion and fear. That was the Truth Holder's weapon." He pauses and looks at the liquid in his mug. He sighs and continues. "When I saw my mother die, I didn't even think, I just reacted. I remember throwing myself against Takahashi,with all my strength. He was startled for some moments, but then he got my back, literally." He drinks a sip of his thee. The horrible scream of the child I repeatedly heard in my dreams comes to my mind "Luckily, Quillsh Wammy arrived in time to save me from certain death. He was a great Watari." He smiles kindly at the thought. My thoughts go back to the day I climbed the Mountain of Oblivion and Near led me to the cavern, where the black haired man was knelled before the perfectly arranged pile of round white rocks. _An old friend._ He said back them. Ryuzaki looks at me only one second intently, like in recognition. "After Wammy attacked Takahashi, he run away with me. There was no time to check if the man was dead. Watari regretted that later, for he always feared Takahashi,was still alive and wanted revenge." He finishes his thee and puts the mug down on the wooden table gently. "When Wammy rescued me and brought me to a safe hidden place, the last thing I expected was to find another survivor of my kin, a little girl just a bit older than me. Her name was Chiraru, a girl with the beauty of one thousand springs. Her village was destroyed just like mine. She managed to escape and wondered a couple days, until another Watari, Roger, found her. I grew up with the company of Wammy, Roger and Chiharu. The Wataris were our guardian. They had connections to some villages where they knew that we were welcome. When I was 12, Roger's health did not permit him to continue a nomad life style and he had to leave us. He passed away some years ago, so I heard. Quillsh Wammy remained with us until his last breath. Scarlet Plain's hot days and chilly nights were too harsh for him. " His voice becomes a bit darker. "Wammy always warned me to be cautious. He knew my urge in passing on my knowledge to people was strong. He used to tell me that my passion for humans would be my downfall." We are all silenced. Listening to Ryuzaki's story of his life was both fascinating and sad. He sighs. "During our travels I could feel the people's pain. I saw them die of hunger and diseases and so my wish to help them grew stronger day by day."

"I'm amazed you didn't grow a grudge for Humankind, after what happened to your race." Mikami's quiet voice is heard. Ryuzaki stares at him with his large round eyes for some seconds.

"I never felt revolted for Humankind. The Truth Holders are the problem. They are the ones that started the wars and persecuted my people. The rest of the population was merely a victim of their fanatical and extreme actions." He speaks like if this was an obvious fact.

"Did you teach people what you know during your travels with the Wataris?" It's Sayu's turn to make a question.

"Yes. I know a lot about cultivation methods, how to fertilize the ground, the right places to plant the different types of seeds, how to benefit of the medicinal properties of plants and even of animals, like poisonous snakes or scorpions. I know how to combat many diseases and make both people and animals grow stronger and healthier. " He turns to face me." The old man in the Village by Scarlet Plain is one of the few surviving Elders." Ryuzaki's eyes shift for moments to his son. Near is seated contemplating a great group of skinny towers he built with his stones. Father and son switch looks, communicating without words. The child then turns his gaze back to the towers and remains so, like if he's fascinated with his own making. Ryuzaki looks a bit apprehensive, though.

"I was wondering…"I start. "How were you found, by the way?" I notice Mikami's and Sayu's interest grow; we obviously are all very kin in knowing how they ended up here in first place. Ryuzaki is quiet for a moment, his eyes still fixed on the black and white towers.

"After our ways separated, we traveled from village to village, where the contact with Elders or their offspring is still very much alive. These places were always safe and people would receive us with open arms and keep our visit as a secret. However, you always have people that are selfish and found of material richness. I'm guessing there was a traitor in one of the villages, somebody corrupted by greed, and passed the information to the Truth Holders. A kind of insider." I recognize the revolt in both Sayu's and Mikami's eyes. "Anyway, we were ambushed when we were completely alone, traveling between villages. I guess Kozai was the closest village so they decided to take me here, with the illusion that the inhabitants would be grateful for their actions.

"What about Near?" Sayu asks. She's hanging in Ryuzaki's every single word and has her hands clasped like in prayer.

"Well, he was lucky. We had a small wagon with food supplies, so I could travel under the disguise of a merchant and Near was sleeping under a sheet. Obviously the Truth Holders didn't follow us, waited in an isolated point of the route and ambushed me. So didn't know about Near's existence. They confused Near's volume under the sheet for one of the bags with seeds and didn't even check the wagon. They took me and left the wagon behind untouched."

"So how did…" Sayu was going to ask but Near answers before she can finish her sentence.

"When they left with Eru, I climbed the back of their wagon and hung there until they reached the village. They didn't even notice me." The child proudly says. Ryuzaki smiles, equally proud with his son's deed.

After Ryuzaki's tale, we remained for only another short while. We left in the early afternoon, Ryuzaki telling us he was tired and wanted to rest. He and Near are now guests in Mikami's home during their stay in Kozai. We were told that the Truth Holders were being interrogated, but they weren't cooperating. I'm not really amazed. But we were all shocked when Ryuzaki, just before we left Mikami's home, said he wanted to speak to Namikawa, the youngest of the Truth Holders, first thing in tomorrow. And he asked me to come along.

When we arrived Aizawa's home, everybody was there: my parents, the very pregnant Misa, Aizawa with his wife and daughter. They were waiting for Sayu and me to arrive and tell them what happened after we entered Mikami's home.

As night fell and silence rules over the busy village of Kozai, I lay awake unable to calm down my mind and stop the thoughts from spinning around, recapitulating the events of the day. There are so many questions I have that need answer. I turn around restlessly in my bed and end up getting out of it, since I am unable of falling asleep. I dress myself and decide to wonder in de lonely streets of the village, under a starry sky. I breathe in the welcoming cold air and walk without a destiny. The peaceful murmur of the people sleeping in their homes calls my troubled soul. I walk until I reach the border of the village. I smile. I should be surprised but am not. There, standing in the frontier where the rein of people and the rein of nature meet, is Ryzaki with his eyes fixed on me, back bend and hands in the pockets. He gestures with his head to follow him and walks further in the arid desert.

* * *

**A/N**

**It's been a while since I had time to work on my stories. This was a quick one, to focus on the life of Ryuzaki, the Wise One and to answer some of the many question Light and you, dear readers, must been having for a while. The next chapter is almost ready and will be updated soon. Hope you enjoy it!**

**CHIHARU (千春): Japanese name meaning "one thousand springs."**


	14. Revelations

_**Do you know the ancient secrets that live within you, secrets that are part of you, secrets that make who you are?**_

We are sitting on the ground around a camp fire we just made. I'm sitting with my legs crossed, Ryuzaki in his typical crouched position. We walked about a mile away from the village, where the surroundings are empty and untouched by Humankind. Above us hangs a half moon accompanied by thousands of shinny little white points against a black background. De yellow flames warm us from the chilly night air, dancing shadows play with our features.

We are sitting in this peaceful place, with Kozai in our background. In this very moment, we are completely isolated from the rest of Mankind, alone, like if we were the only two living beings of this strange world.

"Your mind is filled with many questions." Ryuzaki finally breaks the silence by going straight to the point. "So what's keeping you back?" I smile at my friend's assertiveness.

"You read minds, right?" I finally ask the question that has been wanted to be spilled out already since our first encounter.

"No." He merely says. I can feel my eyebrow lift up from mistrust. "I'm just good in reading facial expressions." He smiles slightly and I realize I have no choice but to accept his lie. I guess there are some questions he won't really answer.

"How did you pass your memories to me?" His large round eyes widen just a bit.

"Actually, I didn't do anything." This time I can sense the sincerity in his voice and even a small hint of amazement.

"Then how in the world???" I'm even more confused now than before. I can see in Ryuzaki's behavior that he's considering the answer, resting his thumb on his bottom lip, in a thoughtful manner.

"You know that, long ago, the Creators procreated with the Humans, right?"

"Yes, that's how your race was born"

"Exactly. Now, in the beginning, the Wise Ones continued procreating with Humans too. If the Wise Ones inherited parts from both Creators and Humans, so did the children from Wise Ones and Humans. Only, in this case, the Creators characteristics diminished by generation, giving more place to the Human genes. This meant that the more the offspring of Wise Ones and Humans continued to procreate exclusively with Humans, the more they became physically weaker and the knowledge of the Nature and Life became scarcer by each generation. It was after about 5 or 6 generations of procreation solely with Humans that the still "pure blooded" Wise Ones decided they shouldn't mix with Humans anymore. Actually, they made it a rule, with as unique intention to preserve the full capacities of our race. But it was precisely this rule that was misinterpreted and raised suspicions among some people, leading later to the rise of the Truth Holder's theories." I nod signing that I understand, but wonder why he's telling me this. "Of course this meant that the generations that were already mixed continued procreating among themselves. The more the children of the gods procreated with Humans, then more humanlike they became and the Creator's characteristics faded away from father to son. After several generations, you cannot differentiate a full blooded Human from a descendent of the gods. But…" And he pauses, emphasizing the word "but" "…some of the Creators' inheritance remained imprinted in their children's offspring, as far away as it might be from their original Fathers and Mothers. It is a remote legacy of the Creator, hidden in the most subtle manner, but still, always present." He pauses again and this time he fixes his large deep black eyes on mine. He rests his thumb on his bottom lip and looks concentrated, like if his considering something really hard. "You, my dear friend, came from the line of the Creators." I can feel my heart jump suddenly. He must be kidding.

"Right, and how would you know that?" I ask in an almost mocking tone, unable to hide my nerves.

"I sensed something different about you when we first met. And then I observed you and your family and it became clear." I laugh nervously, still not believing that the blood of the gods is running in my veins, an inheritance that goes way back to centuries ago. "You have it from your mother's side." Again, my heart bumps madly and I can feel my throat is dry. He looks very seriously at me. "You never founded odd that your mother has a special ability with animals? Like if she is able to create a strong bond with them, one that nobody else can? It's because she speaks and understands Nature's language. And your little sister Sayu? Her fascination, almost obsessive, with stones and minerals? She too can hear the whispers of Nature in the stones, their stories, older than time itself. And you…" He points his index intently at me. "You think like a Wise One." He pauses. I'm completely speechless. " You are very intelligent, more than the average Human and your mental abilities are also superior to other people. It's what people call sixth sense. Your soul is open to other energies and that's the way you sometimes can sense the feelings of others, dream important messages and have a strong instinct about some situations. Unlike regular Humans, you have a highly developed intuition. You knew already with young age that you were different than the other children, so you closed your mind. But this element, it was always there and will always be, even if you ignore it. Because it's in your nature. It is your legacy from the gods." A long silence falls and is only interrupted by the cracking sound of the burning wood. Ryuzaki in sitting crouched with his finger back on his lip; his gaze seems lost somewhere I cannot reach. I feel sick. I think my insides are turning around. Never in my life had I thought…I believe him yet. All what he said is true; I recognize everything he told me. It sounds unbelievable, no completely crazy, yet it sounds so correct, so real…

"That's quite a revelation." I finally manage to say. Ryuzaki seems to wake up from his daydream and stares at me for a moment and smiles.

"There are many like you walking around, ignoring the unique legacy they carry within them." He sighs. "If they would become conscious of their capacities and concentrate on them, one can only tell the marvels people could do." I nod fully understanding what he means. Suddenly I feel exhausted. Only now I realize I had an abnormal long day, with revelations after revelations. The discovery that Ryuzaki and Near are Wise Ones, the discovery that my friend is the man of an ancient prophecy, that the blood of the Creators runs in my veins, their genes dormant for so long time, like many others unaware of their uniqueness.

"I guess this kind of make us family." I joyfully say. Ryuzaki looks at me a bit surprised, but smiles warmly, his eyes forming two half moons. I am happy I found him. It's like finding a lost brother, somebody I became so quickly familiar with and even attached to. A valuable friend, one I never had before.

"We should rest." Ryuzaki speaks. He lifts up and gives me a hand to help me get up. My body is exhausted and becoming numb, so I must force myself to walk back to the village. I wonder how Ryuzaki is handling it, he doesn't look tired at all. From our short journey back to the village, I hardly recall anything, only the warm hand supporting my back and me falling asleep immediately the very moment I lied down on my bed.

* * *

_**A/N**_

**_This is defenitly one of my favorite chapters so far. I had to rewite L's explanation a couple times about the procreation and legacy part so it wouldn't sound confusing and repetively. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too, as well as the story so far. Let me know your thoughts._**

**_Happy Easter!!!_**


	15. Friends or Foes

**What greatness hides in our ancestory?**

I'm watching, from a certain distance, Ryuzaki talking to the youngest member of the Truth Holders: Reiji Namikawa. He's sitting in his usual position, crouched and really close to Namikawa's face. His thumb is trapped between his teeth and his eyes are large and empty. Namikawa, on the other hand, is sitting on the ground, his legs crossed and looks really uncomfortable with the way the other man is examining him. The contrast between the two of them is great. They have both pale complexions and black hair, but that too, is the only thing they have in common. While one has a messy and untreated hairstyle, the other has long and silky locks that would envy any girl. While one has large lifeless eyes, the other fail's to hide the window to his soul. While one has awkward complexions, the other has a handsome face. Two perfect specimens of their own kind.

Ryuzaki whispers first gently, his lips barely move, the sound of his voice is too soft for me to understand what he speaks. But whatever he's telling Namikawa, it's surely unnerving the young man that, despite his impassive appearance, is becoming paler by the minute. Namikawa must have found it odd when the guards came to get him to meet a crouched Wise One in the room. First there was an absolute silence. Ryuzaki stared blankly at the man for a good five minutes. I know that he was examining Namikawa's soul, his nature, his persona. And only when he concluded his examination did he start to speak.

"You are not a bad person." Finally my friend's words are audible enough for me to follow the conversation. I'm conscious that I'm staring questionably at the two of them. I'm eager to know where Ryuzaki wants to head to. And I am wondering if he's trying to gain an ally with the enemy. "Since the day you were born, you have been told what to do. Your life has been written by others. And you, by growing up in this environment, accepted a destiny foretold by others." Ryuzaki straightens his back just for moments, like a cat stretching his muscles, and then returns to his bended position. "After all, this is how you were raised, right? You grew up with the goal of answering everybody else's expectations, and you succeeded too, greatly." I can see Namikawa's eyes shining greatly. He's transparent for Ryuzaki and I'm sure he already came to the realization that there is absolutely nothing he can hide from the Wise One. "But, I wonder, did you chose to accept this destiny, this path prepared for you because of ambition? Has your soul been corrupted by the desire of impressing others and achieving more than expected? Because, the reality is this one. You are not a bad person." Namikawa's eyes twitch.

We are probably both thinking the same thing. _Why isn't Ryuzaki angry with him? Why is he presenting him a possible forgiveness, talking kind words, instead of judging him mercilessly_? I can see that Namikawa is an intelligent, cautious and objective person. His tactic is to remain silent first, observe and study, while the other one opens himself and reveals his character while he speaks. He then can prepare himself and play his mind games. Only this time, and I'm sure Namikawa already came to the same conclusion, it's not even worthy to try. Ryuzaki is no fool. Trying to deceive the Wise One will only make things worse for him anyway. And Namikawa is probably too conscious of his delicate position to even dare to think about it. So, in the end, Ryuzaki has full control of the situation and Namikawa is fully dependent of the Wise One's conclusions and final decision.

"What do you want from me?" Namikawa finally asks. Ryuzaki releases his thumb and smiles triumphantly. He has been waiting for these words.

"You already know." Ryuzaki's smiles evolves to one of extreme confidence, victory and some mischief.

"I don't know how many Truth Holder's are…" Namikawa surprisingly speaks with arrogance.

"LIAR!" Both Namikawa and I jump from fright as Ryuzaki raises suddenly his voice. His eyes shrink and his bottom lip is pushed a bit forward. He looks really pissed off. Actually, he looks terrifyingly scary now, like a predator that's about to slay its victim. Namikawa loses the little color left in his face as his eyes are confronted with those of the gods. I have no idea of what is happening right now. All in the sudden, out of nothing, Namikawa is screaming. The scene is frightening and disturbing. Namikawa looks almost ridiculous, simply seated on front of Ryuzaki, yelling maddly. Then I realise to my shock that Namikawa's eyes are locked with Ryuzaki's ones. Namikawa is unable to take his eyes away from the hollow black dots of the Child of the Gods. His body is complelty paralised, not one single muscle moves. He just seats there, on front of Ryuzaki, his eyes so widen that they look they are about to jump off his face, his mouth so streched open like if his jaw is about to break and depart from his face. His eyes reveal nothing but fear and pain. He is screaming his head off. The most frightened, hysterical and desperate yells I ever heard in my life.

So this is how Wise Ones torture.

"Stop it!" He finnaly manages to beg between his screams of agony. "Please! Make this stop!" Ryuzaki remains only another second in this stance and then his face relaxes again, his eyes become rounder and larger and he even creates some distance between their faces. I can see small tears in the end of Namikawa's eyes, terror still in them.

"That's how corrupted you are." Ryuzaki's voice sounds strange, like heavier and older. "Do you want to carry on in this path?" Namikawa shakes his head desperately, the tears flying from his face.

"That's not me!" Namikawa's voice is horrified.

"It is indeed a shame."Ryuzaki voice becomes soft again, even comforting. "That a man of your intelligence, of your quick thinking should let himself be blindly guided by old sickening traditions. It's a shame that a man with your nature, the capability of helping others, would try to find in every situation something to profit from." I frown. I'm starting to wonder if Namikawa is…But then suddenly, Ryuzaki gets up and seems to want to leave the room.

"Why me?" The desperate man asks the Child of the gods.

"You hesitated." Ryuzaki turned to face Namikawa and smiled gently. "When Takahashi ordered you to attack me you listened to your deepest instincts, the oldest that run through you family history. Even if it was for only one second. " I can feel my heart beat strongly. I understand fully now why Ryuzaki chose to talk with Namikawa. And I also understand why he asked me to accompany him. He leaves the room, but before that he looks right into my eyes.

"Your turn Light-kun. He is ready." And it was all that was needed to be said before he exited the room. I turn to face Namikawa. All his confidence and calm is gone. He looks lost and hopeless. Like a child that lost his way back home in a moonless night. And here I am, an inheritor of an ancient divine bloodline, standing before one of my own kind, chosen to bring him back to the right path.

I sit with my legs crossed in the same manner as Namiwaka. My hands rest on my legs, I breathe deep and relax my body. I wonder if my serenity will help Namikawa's internal turmoil. I close my eyes for a few moments and when I open them again, I see Namikawa staring at me, his face weary, but also relaxed. I look back at him and hesitate. I'm not really sure how to start. But then, Namikawa decides to break the silence.

"As a child, I always wondered how a Wise One truly was." He started, his voice firm and steady again. "I remember listening to my father and grandfather boasting about having destroyed the last Wise One's community. Strangely, I felt revolted and even thought it was a shame. But I never told this to anybody! It went against all I ever was told and taught." I nod, signing that I fully understand him, so he may proceed. "And then Takahashi said a boy from the Lawliet Clan was rescued by a Watari and I felt my heart rejoice. I couldn't understand why. I believed that what I thought, what I felt, was wrong and bad. So I silenced myself. And I did everything that was told to me, even if it went against my deepest and most secret wishes. To fight this feeling that was leading me off my path to become a great Truth Holder" He sighed. "I always wished secretly to meet a Wise One." He smiled for the first time. "And it exceeded all my expectations. Ryuzaki truly belongs to a great race." I blink as I recognize the admiration in his voice. This was a confession that I never expected to hear.

"Do you know why he chose you?" Namikawa shakes his head a bit. "His answer was too vague."

"I'm going to tell you a secret." I come closer to Namikawa and he approaches a bit too. "Before the Wise Ones introduced the closure law, the one that forbid Wise Ones to reproduce with humans, there were already 5, 6 and maybe even 7 generations of humans that were originally Wise Ones, but whose offspring derived exclusively from humans. What do you think happened with the powers of these people?"

"I guess that, since they continued reproducing with humans, the Wise One qualities faded away with passing of new generations." I nod smilingly.

"Only, they never fade completely away." I continue. I can see Namikawa's eyes widen greatly. "They remain hidden, in a dormant state, but are passed from generation to generation. Namikawa, imagine how many people there are in the world that have a Wise One as the very ancient forefather. Imagine how many people carry the blood of the Creators, even though in a very small amount. These people carry the legacy of the superior race without even knowing it and are capable to use this legacy, just by instinct. Imagine…."

"If they were aware of their capacities!" I smile and straighten my back as Namikawa finishes off my train of thoughts. "Before he left, Ryuzaki told me that my instincts are the oldest of my family's history." I can hear his voice tremble just a bit.

"That's because you are a descendent of the Wise Ones, coming from a very ancient bloodline."

"Just like you." He concludes. I have to admit it: the guy is really smart. I nod in confirmation. He smiles briefly and then looks at me with a very serious expression.

"There are very few Truth Holders now. Only 12 still exist, including myself. The Truth Holders' order corrupted itself and everybody became very competitive among each other, which led to the death of many members. Ambition for power and richness really brings the worse of people out and I am sorry to admit that I too have a share in the decline of Truth Holders." I figure out that whatever Namikawa was confronted by Ryuzaki has to do with this. "The most of them are mere cowards. Men that hide behind an illusion of power and think that are unbeatable, but once confronted with the reality, they just flee like rats. There is, although one that is dangerous. He's a man with no means to stop when it's about eliminating a Wise One. He is the most fanatic Truth Holder you'll ever find. Your friend was lucky that he wasn't with our club when we caught him, otherwise Ryuzaki would have been slaughtered as soon as we had him captive and his body would have been displayed in every city and village as a trophy. I'll give you all the names of each member of the Truth Holders, but wherever you and your friend are heading to, I can guarantee you he will follow you down and do everything to kill Ryuzaki and his son."

I leave the Kozai's jail. I feel weary after my talk with Namikawa. I'm glad that the Truth Holder's became so vicious and gready, that they started to eleminate their own kind. That they auto destructed and shrunk to a small 12. And one of them is now in our side. But my heart is heavy. The preacaucion words about the one Truth Holder frigthens me. I hold a small paper in my hand. On it, there are the names, ages, hometowns and recognizable features of each Truth Holder. Four are locked up, so Ryuzaki and Near have to look out for another 8 men. The one man we need to watch out is the last one in my small list. Kyosuke Higuchi.

* * *

**A/N **

**Yes, I am still alive! I am so sorry for my long absence, but now I'm back (yay to holidays!). I think Namikawa is really cool and thought it was really a pity that he was killed in DN. Argg! Anyway, things are going to become even more interesting now. More DN characters are going to pop in this story. I hope you are still enjoying. Please share your thoughts. review! ^_^**


	16. Light's Dilemma

_**What to do when destiny forces your paths to cross each other once again?**_

Three days have passed now since Ryuzaki and I talked with Nawikawa and gained the rest of the Truth Holder's names. The Wise One asked for clemency on the youngest member of the Truth Holders. Everybody was startled with his empathy towards Namikawa. I smiled, knowing too well that I am one of the few keepers of an important secret. Namikawa will be punished for his crimes in the past, surely, but Kozai's judges were impressed with Ryuzaki's request and promised to find a suitable punishment for the young man. Ryuzaki suggested community work.

Today we are leaving this lovely city. I pay farewell from kind and helpful Mikami and the Aizawa family. And I also pay farewell to my own family, for I feel that my destiny is to continue travelling alongside Ryuzaki and help him achieve his goal, which is still a mystery to me. My parents were surprised but accepted my decision with respect and some reluctance, promising to take good care of Misa and my unborn child. And I promised to return to Kozai, where my family decided to settle down for now, as soon as possible. Sayu was revolted and begged my parents to go with us and make almost as much fuss as Misa did when I told them my decision. Ryuzaki had stared amused at the whole scene, watching the small but loud girl gluing herself to me and imploring me not to go away. It irritated me. He seemed to find the situation humorous and did nothing to help me convince her to stay in Kozai.

"Misa-Misa needs Light-kun! How is Misa-Misa going to have her child without Light-kun being there?" The persistent woman kept claiming me. I'm sure we already lost half an hour in this ridiculous discussion. "Doesn't Light-kun want to see his first child being born?" The strange image of a new born baby popping out of Misa's body, the girl sweaty and hysterical, made me even want to leave sooner! I finally fought my way out and released myself of Misa, leaving the pregnant woman sitting on the ground sobbing dramatically as I left. Ryuzaki looked from Misa to me. His grin had disappeared and was replaced by his usual impassive expression. But I had the feeling he wanted to say something, although he too turned his back to the blond screaming woman and followed me to the wagon. Near came running behind us just a bit later. He looked sad but was silent and I noticed Ryuzaki stroke his curls gently and whispered him some kind words. The child hugged him for only a couple seconds, and then run to the wagon, holding his stuffed animal close to his chest. And so we left.

We are travelling a couple days now. We travel through places that are unknown to me. Other places I only know only from name, stories and reputation. Places I never dreamt I would adventure in.

I look at my travel companions. Near. I'm still amazed with the quietness of the child that sits behind us, his back always against his father's back, his black eyes always cast on the horizon, the place where left our beloved ones. He doesn't talk or play. He just sits there, silent, unnoticed. Ryuzaki. His eyes are always fixed on the horizon too, but the opposite one. He takes us through different roads without ever seeking guidance in a map or in the skies. Just like he did in Scarlet Plain.

We are traveling southwards. Here and there we stop in little villages, where Ryuzaki trades plants and seeds, instructing people how to use them correctly. He always presents himself under the alias name Ryuga, the herb merchant. As we continue our journey, we notice that there's more that travels around. The news that two Wise Ones survived the Truth Holder's fury are spreading fast too. I notice that these news bring a small light of hope in the lives of the poor people that struggle to survive in the barren world that mankind created. Voices whisper the foretelling of the prophecy and people wait for the day the Wise One will restore the Balance in the world. I rejoice with their new optimism, but also worry myself, for I know it is a matter of time: Higuchi will hear the news too.

Ryuzaki hasn't revealed me our destiny yet. However, I am starting to have my suspicions and am beginning to worry a bit. I follow our route in the map and figured out that probably the reason he didn't tell me yet where we are heading at, is to avoid scaring me away. Because the route we are taking right now passes really close to Osaka, the hunted city. And I have the bad feeling that Ryuzaki wants to cross the land of the wandering souls. I am deep in these thoughts when suddenly Near lifts up. I instinctively turn around and I can see the boy is staring at the landscape behind us. I frown. The last time he demonstrated this behavior was just before a great sand storm. I look at the road behind us. The footsteps of the camestriches and the drawing of the wagon's wheels are demarked on the dusty ground that we leave behind. And I look at Ryuzaki. He doesn't move, no reaction to be seen, just the usual impassiveness. Near takes a step forward.

"They have been following us already for a while." Ryuzaki speaks calmly. I stare amazed and wonder about whom he's talking and pray to the gods that it's not Higuchi or raiders. But Near turns around and I can see a smile in his lips and his eyes are shinning from happiness.

"Eru, why don't we stop? It's rude not to wait for them." I'm becoming more and more perplexed, however, I'm feeling relieved. Ryuzaki smiles too and seems to interiorize his son's comment. He stops the camestriches.

"You're absolutely right." The camestriches lay on the ground, enjoying the moment of rest. I have the feeling the animals know it's going to take a while.

I stare from one to the other. Near looks like a statue. He's gazing expectantly at the landscape made of silver leaved trees on small light yellow sandy hills. Ryuzaki remains crouched on the same place, his eyes focuses on the opposite side, with a subtle smile of mischief on his lips. I feel stupid, left out and mocked. They know that I have no idea of whom they are referring too, and yet, they both remain silent.

"Who's been following us?" I ask irritated.

"Patience my friend. Time will reveal soon who they are." Is what I get to hear and must content myself with.

Time passes slowly. My thoughts wonder of, my mind becomes a blur. I'm seated down and can feel my eyes become heavy from the heat. I cover myself with a white sheet to protect my skin from burning and find myself staring at Ryuzaki's white skin. Wise One or not, I and cannot understand how he doesn't burn under the hot sun. I start wondering from what kind of material he is made of.

Time passes slowly. The camestriches are dozing and I feel like I'm about to join them. My travel companions remain silent and quiet. Near is still standing expectantly and Ryuzaki, crouched, his thumb between his teeth, probably lost in his thoughts. The sun is hot, the air heavy. Everything is quiet. No movement of any kind, no sound besides our breathing . Nothing. The world is still. And in this perfect environment of peace, I give up to my body's weariness and close my eyes. Before I know, I'm already dreaming. Fast images past before my eyes. I see the ground moving rapidly beneath me. It's like I'm flying. Yes, I am flying. High and above miles and miles of dry barren land. Red and yellow soil. Dead dry trees with no leaves. I'm flying fast and lean. The ground is transforming. I see seeds travelling, I see flowers growing, green grass around trees full of fruit. I continue flying. I feel the cool breeze caress my face, play with my hair. I feel free and happy. Never have I felt such a marvelous feeling of full joy. And suddenly, two big red eyes pop on front of me. I jump and wake up with a fright. I see two great black dots looking right into my eyes. Ryuzaki's face is so close to mine now that our noses almost touch.

"They are coming." Ryuzaki's voice is mere a whisper. He crouches back to his standard position, his eyes still resting on mine for some instants. And then he turns his gaze away to fix his eyes back on the horizon. I'm still in shock from my sudden wakening and don't feel very happy for being interrupted from my marvelous dream. Then I turn around to look at the landscape behind us. I gasp of surprise when I see a small cloud of dust heading towards us. I stand next to Near and notice his eyes are glittering strangely.

I try to focus my vision in what I figured out is another wagon being pushed by camestriches, but fail to see the travelers in it. They are too far to recognize. But slowly I make out two people sitting on it, wrapped in cloths, protected from the sun. My heart jumps when I recognize the voice of one of the passengers that yells out my name.

"Light-kun!" My stomach skinks and I can feel all my blood drain down. I stare a while in pure disbelief as I recognize the person sitting next to Misa and guiding the camestriches as my own little sister.

"Sayu!" I gasp. Suddenly I turn around and look angrily at Ryuzaki. "You knew they were following us! Why didn't you say anything?" No response. "Ryuzaki!"

"I didn't say nothing because I knew it would only upset you." His voice is as calm as ever. I can hear Misa's voice coming closer. I brutally approach Ryuzaki and grab him by his collar.

"How long did you know they were following us?" Ryuzaki shows no sign of fear or threat.

"Before Near sensed them? Only some hours before." I open my mouth from incredibility.

"And you told me nothing! You didn't have the right to hide it from me! What if something would have happened to them?" I speak furiously. It irritates me greatly to look at Ryuzaki's impassive expression. I let him go, boiling inside. He crouches again, his thumb back to his lips.

"Nothing happened to them." He merely says. His lack of interest and understanding drives me wild. I close my eyes, straighten my back and contain my repressed fury with a deep breath.

"Ruyzaki." I say with a dark voice. The turns surprised at me with a "huh?" and I hit him right on his face. He clumsily flies and falls down from the wagon, landing on the dusty ground. I can hear Misa let out a scream. Apparently, the girls have just reached us. I jump to the floor and look down at Ryuzaki, his hand on his face, his eyes round from surprise.

"That hurts." He says amazed. I approach him, overshadowing him. My hand is glowing, damn his face his hard like a stone.

"I will not tolerate this lack of consideration." I speak. I wish I could see Ryuzaki's face, for it's now hidden under his black hair. Out of nothing his foot hits my face in full strength. I fell back and hear him say.

"An eye for an eye." I am taken aback for some moments. But quickly my anger is refilled. I don't accept this. We start fighting on the dusty floor, hitting and kicking in an equal battle.

"GUYS!" We suddenly stop, both holding each other's collar, and stare at Sayu, who's staring at us angrily, Misa and Near standing next to her with astonished expressions. We both separate ourselves, cleaning the dirt from our clothes.

"Sorry, a guy's thing." I say. Near gives me an angry glare and runs to his father. I look at Ryuzaki. He looks a bit messy and bewildered, but the bastard doesn't have any cuts or bruises from our little fight. I wonder if he even tried to defeat me. I then suddenly feel two arms around my waist and a hard lump against my belly.

"Misa-Misa is sooooo happy to be with Light-kun again! Misa-Misa could not bear and be away from him!" She speaks with a nauseous sweet voice. Then she stares right into my eyes. "Misa-Misa wants to have her baby with Light-kun next to her." I notice her eyes are shining greatly, teary from the emotion. She takes a step backwards and holds my hands in her small ones. "Misa-Misa and Light-kun made this baby together and should have this child together." Her voice is soft and all of the sudden I feel really bad. I realize I was selfish in leaving her behind, with a few months before the birth of our child, her first baby. I groan for realizing that, probably, Misa is this time the one who's right. But what am I supposed to do? She irritates me to death! I lift up my head and am about to reply but then I meet Sayu's gaze. I can see a mix of fear and determination on her face.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" I can hear the hardness in my own voice. Sayu budges slightly, determination giving into fear.

"Let it go Yagami-kun." I hear Ryuzaki's voice. He's sitting crouched with his back to me. "They have a mind of their own and are capable of making decisions without your consent." I stare at him in full disbelief. This is outrageous. First, he hides his knowledge about their travel, and god knows when he intended to tell me. And now he's disregarding my authority towards Misa and Sayu.

"You have no right to interfere. I am her big brother and Misa's husband. They should respect and obey my decision."

"Obey?" Ryuzaki finally turns to face me. "Yagami-kun, you do not own them. As I said before, they have minds of their own. You should respect their courage and decision. One that you obviously don't agree nor understand." The last part he whispers in a way that only I can hear him. I open my mouth to reply but he cuts me. "They refused to stay in Kozai and traveled alone and safely. That's the most important. It's not worthy to start adding "ifs" and wondering what could have happened. Now, instead of discussing pointless matters, we should accept the reality as it presents itself to us." He stands up in his curved manner, between me and the girls and stares at me with his round lifeless eyes. "They are now too far to go back alone and I must continue with my travel. Yagami-kun, you must make a choice. Whether you let the girls join us and travel as a group, or our ways separate now, and you return back to Kozai to bring your sister and wife back to safety. But I warn you. I will not travel back with you and neither will I wait for you here. I will continue my journey, with or without you." He looks seriously at me and I can see he really means what he's saying.

The sun is burning high and hot. I have a dilemma. I stare at the girls. I look at the Wise Ones. Join or separate. Why do I have to make this choice? The girls look tired. My heart sinks as I notice Misa is panting and sweating from the heat. She is certainly in no condition to make such a long travel. I stare back at Ryuzaki and Near. Their frail appearance is misjudging. I know they are in truth both strong and prudent. But I also known their travel will be full of risks and dangers. Too dangerous for even the Children of the gods. Then I ask myself. Do I have the right to put Misa's, my unborn child's and Sayu's life in risk too? I sigh as I realize that the wisest thing to do is exactly the opposite of what I wish for.

"I will return to Kozai with the girls." I firmly state. I can see in Ryuzaki's eyes he didn't expect this choice and looks disappointed. Near's eyes shrink in an almost evil way and if I didn't know, I would swear he's cursing me with his eyes.

"I'm not going back!" Sayu's voice is clear and determined. "Misa and I are no fools and we are perfectly capable of travelling like you guys. Just because we are girls, it doesn't mean we cannot join you in this quest. And Misa can travel too. She survived Scarlet Plain and she's only 5 months pregnant, for god's sake. It's not like she's dying from a disease. Besides, there are many merchant's women that travel in the last month of their pregnancy." She steps forwards and looks right into my eyes. "We both want to help Ryuzaki and Near. This is not only your destiny, Light." I swallow hard. I still don't agree with her, but she clearly makes her point. "We are going with you and there is nothing you can do to stop us." She walks by me with her back straight and her head high. I can see Ryuzaki and Sayu switch looks and Near smiles as he reaches to hold her hand. She is standing now next to Ryuzaki. My pride is hurt, but I'm also proud of my sister. This is the first time she stands for her ground. I turn to Misa.

"What about you?" I see Misa's eyes widen from surprise. I admit it. It's not often that I ask my wife's opinion. She comes close to me and holds my hands.

"Misa-Misa understands that Light-kun doesn't want Misa-Misa and Sayu to travel, because Light-kun loves and worries about us. But Light-kun must understand that Misa-Misa and Sayu also love and worry with Light-kun and that is why we want to be together." I'm lost for words. Misa let go of my hands and stands next to Sayu and the Wise Ones.

"Good. Now that this is all settled, shall we continue?" Ryuzaki speaks.

"What about my parents?" I suddenly remember. "They must be worried sick!" I desperately try to win this silly discussion. I'm such a sour loser.

"We left a note for them." Sayu explains.

"Let them be. They will understand." Ryuzaki adds, as he crouches back on the wagon. "Not like they have a choice." He whispers again so only I can hear him.

And so we proceed. I take the girl's wagon and Misa sits beside me. Sayu is in Ryuzaki's wagon, sitting behind with Near, both chatting happily. I fully understand the girls' point, but cannot help myself from worrying. We are travelling towards the city of the destroyed towers with the threat of having a mad Truth Holder in our trail. I close my eyes and pray to all gods that we may have a safe journey.

* * *

_**A/N**_

**_Go go go Girl Powerrrrrrrr!_**

**_Ehm, excuse me for that. _**

**_Please review ;)_**


	17. The Wedding

**_You tell me_**

**_Over and over and over again, _**

**_And you don't believe yourself_**

**_We're on the eve of destruction._**

I listen to Misa's singing voice that's mere a whisper and wonder why she's singing these strange verses.

_Over and over and over again_

I stare at her questionably. She has her eyes closed and her right hand is resting on her growing belly. She's rocking herself side to side and smiles while she sings. It's creeping me out because she's singing with a sweet voice which doesn't match with the morbid words at all.

_We're on the eve of destruction._

"Misa, will you please stop." Ryuzaki's voice is heard, a bit louder than normal. His expression is the usual one, wide deadly eyes and impassive face, but I can hear in his tone a hint of annoyance. Misa stares at him a bit surprised.

"Why does Ryuzaki want Misa-Misa to stop? Doesn't he like her singing?"

"Misa, you have a very lovely voice and I'm sure your child will enjoy your lullabies (Misa smiles cheerfully, her hands clasped together closed to her heart), but please, stop singing that song. It's creeping Near out!" (Misa's smile fades immediately and is replaced by a disenchanted one). I instinctively look at the child. He looks frightened, his eyes large, his gaze scared. He's holding tight to his father's arm and I can understand now the reason for Ryuzaki's tension. The child is clearly sticking his nails in his father skin and it looks painful. "If you want to sing, chose a more cheerful song." Ryuzaki's eyes go from wide to narrow. Misa let out a sharp shriek. Ryuzaki looks really scary when he's pissed off.

"Why are you singing that anyway?" Sayu asks her sister-in-law. She's sitting next to the very annoyed Ryuzaki and is trying gently to release Near's strong grip from his father. I can hear Ryuzaki mumble something too low for me to understand, his eyes still creepily narrowed.

"Misa-Misa's mother used to sing this song to her when she was a little girl." She cheerfully explains. I can see Sayu is shocked with the answer. Near buries his head on my sister's lap and Ryuzaki's eyes narrow even more.

"You are not seriously planning in doing that with our child, are you?" I ask her.

Misa is about to reply when suddenly a man, out of nowhere comes running right on front of our wagons. He stops paralyzed a few moments before us. He almost got under the camestriches, that were stopped immediately by Ryuzaki and myself. He stares startled at us only one moment, his eyes huge and his arms stretched to the sides. Then he looks at the small hill at our right, where small traces of dust clouds clearly produced by him are still visible. Without any notice, he runs off again, his arms in the air, screaming hysterically and tripling everywhere as he runs down the road.

We all stare at the runaway perplexed and no words are switched. And then suddenly we hear a shouting of various voices, coming from behind the hill the runaway just came from. It's a group of about five or six men, waving with axes, fork and pointed hoes in the air. They too are running and look really angry. When they reach us, seeing the man already far (we can still see the trail of dust he left behind, likewise, hear his screams fading away down the road) they stop, panting heavily.

"Pardon my curiosity, but why were you chasing that man?" One of the man turns to face the person questioning him. He looks a bit amazed for a second, probably because of Ryuzaki's bizarre appearance.

"That son of a bitch almost broke my son's new home into bricks!" The man angrily says, while he shakes his fist in the air.

"Is that so?" Ryuzaki's voice sounds as bored as ever. The man doesn't seem to like the Wise One's attitude and looks upset at him.

"My son is marrying and, according to our village's tradition, we build a new home for him and his bride. This guy…a stranger to our town, came telling us he knows a lot about construction techniques and would teach us a faster and stronger way of building…" The man closes his eyes and his eyebrow is twitching. I can see a fat vein under his skin's temple. "Instead of helping, he completely ruined the construction and now we have to start all over again!" He screams! Then he sighs. "We need to have it ready in three days. We'll never make it in time." I notice Ryuzaki is staring intently at the man and he has a strange look in his eyes, one I cannot quite identify.

"My neighbor was a constructor. I used to help him when he was alive. With your permission, me and my friend Light would love to help you." Ryuzaki offers. I stare at him puzzled. He didn't even ask me if I wanted. I know nothing about construction! But I am not able to refuse for the man is already considering Ryuzaki's proposition in his mind.

"And what you may be?" he asks Ryuzaki, who kindly smiles with his innocent and genuine grin.

"An herbs merchant." The man stares a bit suspicious, but seeing Ryuzaki's kind smile, gives in.

"Ok, but I warn you, if you jeopardize the building like that maniac, you will pay for it."

"Naturally."

And so we spend the following days in this small village called Daito. The men were thrilled to have us around. Ryuzaki proved everybody to know more than just the properties of plants and herbs. He taught these villagers a lot about building. He perfected some work instruments, altered some material compositions, and introduced methods that ease the heavy work. The building went quicker and smother than usual. Nevertheless, the marriage had to be delayed for another two days for the ceremony only could take place after the finalization of the house.

The marriage was an event that involved all the inhabitants of this small village and we were of course also invited to the party. The streets were decorated with flowers and colorful flags made by women. The couple received a present from each and every villager. The furniture, the bed and bad clothes, so they were fully prepared to start their new life as a couple. Older women talked already about children, predicting how many girls and boys they would have.

Misa and Sayu were as excited as the rest of the population and followed the marriage ceremony with sparkly eyes. Ryuzaki and Near sat crouched next to each other with the most deadly bored expression on their faces. I laughed internally.

Both bride and groom were brought in two small carriages. They travelled from opposite directions and met in the main square. The father's bride and the mother's groom descended the carriages and greeted each other. Animals and grocery were exchanged from one carriage to the other, a symbol for the share of prosperity of both families. Then, accompanied by the voices of singing villagers, the father's bride presented his daughter, dressed in a white dress with a colorful crown of flowers on her head. The groom's mother did the same, presenting her son; he too dressed in a white long tunic with his crown of flowers on the head.

The new couple greeted their new father and new mother and then walked to the centre of the square, where the eldest villager awaited the young couple. They both kneeled before the old man, who rested his wrinkled hands on their heads.

_Blessed thy well, little merry hearts  
Downcast eyes, lifetime together  
Whatever walks in your heart will never walk alone_

_Constant longing for the perfect soul_  
_Is now forever gone_

_All but love left in thy_  
_Only eyes to see the heaven beside thy_

_Time is yet to come  
So you'll be forever yours_

They stood up again, their eyes smiling. The flower crowns were exchanged and the inhabitants cheered for a kiss, which was willingly taken. Music, dance and a grand feast were followed, until nightfall. People laughed and sung from happiness. The new couple was greeted, congratulated and blessed by the different villagers. When the sun finally set down, the couple entered their new home to consume their marriage.

"Misa-Misa loves marriages!" Sayu giggles merrily at the comment, Near sighs from sleep and Ryuzaki is stuffing his face with sweets.

"Ryuzaki… sorry, I mean, Ryuga… you're going to be sick!" I worriedly warn him. Since the beginning of the feast he's done nothing else than propping his face with cakes and all the different and possible kinds of sweets. I fail to figure out where all that food goes into that small and skinny body of his and how he didn't get indigestion yet.

"Eru always eats a lot of sweets." Sleepily Near merely states.

"I never saw him eating sweets before."

"That's because there were no sweets to be eaten." The child answers. I stare amazed at my friend. He's eating sweet after sweet, his eyes wider than ever. He looks kind of ecstatic. I wonder if the sweets make him high.

"Ryuga?"

"Yes, Yagami-kun?"

"Maybe we should leave tomorrow and proceed with our journey."

"I couldn't agree more." He answers me but he somehow sounds absent, far away. "Our work here is done anyway."

"Ryuga, may I ask you something?" he nods. "Did you offer our help in building that house because you knew there would be sweets in the wedding party?" Ryuzaki turns to me. He looks like a squirrel with his mouth full of food. His eyes are large, perfectly round.

"Yagami-kun, how can you think about something like that." He speaks with his mouth full. I can sense the lie in his voice.

"You came here because of the sweets! I cannot believe in this."

"Nonsense Yagami-kun, you're fantasizing things." At this moment the bride's parents come to us with some bags.

"These are full with different kinds of groceries and this one..." The man pointed to a linen bag. "Is filled with the sweets leftovers, like you requested Ryuga-kun." The couple thanked us one more time for helping with the building of their daughter's house. I stare at my friend with incredulity. I caught him red-handed and I think he didn't blush of embarrassment because he's too pale to blush.

"Ryuzaki!"

"What?" he innocently asks. "They were going to throw them away." I can do nothing but shake my head with my hand on my temple. _Oh great, the wisest of all creatures has a sweet tooth. _Then I smile at the sight before me. Ryuzaki nibbling his sweets with happy large and round eyes, Near sleeping curled up like a cat at his feet. These Wise Ones are definitely the strangest people I ever met.

The following morning we depart and are waved goodbye by the cheerful villagers of Daito. We travel with no further stops for another two days and I worry myself as I check our route in the map and see the cursed city Osaka coming nearer. I sigh.

"Light-kun!" Misa pulls my sleeve and points at the landscape of dead trees. I focus my eyes and see a dark figure moving far away ahead us. It's a person, walking with difficulty in the hot and dry landscape, between rocks and dead trees. I look to the side. Sayu spotted him too. I'm surprised to see that she's the one holding the reins. I take a better look at Ryuzaki and am even more surprised to notice that he has his eyes closed. I gasp as I realize he's asleep, sitting in his crouched position, perfectly balanced despite the movements of the wagon.

"You better wake him up." I tell my sister. She gently touches his shoulder and that's enough for the Wise One to open his eyes and look as sharp as if he was awake the whole time. He immediately sees the person.

"It must be Daito's runaway." He says. No sleepiness in his voice to be detected.

"You think so?" I ask.

"Who else would it be?" I shrug. Whoever it is, must be desperate or a true idiot to travel in such a desolate place, where no food or water can be easily found. We approach him and I confirm that our suspicions about him being the runaway are correct. He has dark hair till his shoulders and wears a long dark blue garment. He's walking bend and slowly and triples once in a while. The man must be worn out. He suddenly turns around. When he sees us he throws himself to the dusty ground. He's knelled, his head touches the ground and his hands are grasped in a begging position.

"Please, do not harm me!" We hear him yelling. We stop the wagons right before him and both Ryuzaki and I step out.

"Calm down, we won't hurt you." I say, trying to reassure him. Ryuzaki crouches on front of the runaway, his thumb on his lips. The man lifts a bit his head and stares surprised at Ryuzaki, who's staring back at him curiously. He bows his head to the side.

"Have you been travelling on foot the whole week?" He asks with his widen eyes. The other man looks a bit hypnotized for some moments, probably staring at the deadly black dots in the Wise One's face, but quickly enough shakes his head like if he was trying to wake up from some strange dream.

"Ehm…yeah." Ryuzaki bows his head to the other side.

"How did you survive?"

"Ah, well, you see this stick?" He takes a stick out of his pocket with a bifurcation and shows it to Ryuzaki.

"You found water with that?" Ryuzaki asks. He sounds a bit amused. The man nods.

"The stick points to the places where water is underground, close to the surface."

"Now that explains the deep holes in the way." I comment.

"And what did you eat?"

"Well, I had some dry fruits with me and I managed to catch some little lizards and birds." He put elastic on the stick transforming it into a slingshot. I feel my jaw fell. I don't know if I should consider him a real lunatic for adventuring in such places with only these two instruments or consider him a genius.

"You must have a perfect aim." Ryuzaki carries on questioning the runaway.

"Oh, I do have! Nobody could slingshot like I do in my birth village!" He naively says. He puts a hand behind his head and laughs uneasily. Ryuzaki's face is blank.

"If you want you can travel with us. What's your name?" The man smiles and looks truly grateful and relieved.

"Touta Matsuda."

* * *

_**A/N**_

**_I truly enjoyed writing this chapter. I think this was the first time I actually put some humor in it with L finding an excuse to get himself a lot of sweets :). I guess it's good to lighten up the story once in a while, with all that serious and gloomy story about the Humanity's doom and L's mission in saving the world._**

**_And Matsuda! Owww, he's one of my favorites. Next chapter will go more about him._**

_**The song Misa was singing is a slightly altered refrein from Barry McGuire song: Eve Of Destruction. And the elder man's speech at the wedding is based on the song Forever Yours from Nightwish, but the Emo words were replaced by cheerful ones. Hope you liked this chapter.**_

_**Review, let me know your thoughts **_


	18. The Cursed Man

_**Everyone can hate, because it's an easy choice. But few can forgive. The highest virtue, the harduoust one.**_

We share some of our water and food supplies with Matsuda, who is, in fact, overly thirsty and starving. The young man takes a deep breath of satisfaction.

"It must feel good to finally be safe." My sister speaks as she smilingly bottles the water can.

"Oh, you bet! I haven't had a moment rest since I…well…since I run away from that village Daito."

"What were you doing there anyway?" I ask. I cannot help but feel extremely curious about him.

"Uh!" He makes a nervous expression and puts his hand behind his head. "Well, I thought I could lend a hand and help those people there but…" He breaks silent and bows his head down, so it's dejectedly pendant.

"But what?" Ryuzaki's turns around to face him. I have the feeling he too is quite curious.

"I messed up everything, just like I always do. I am a cursed man." Matsuda confesses with the most depressive voice. Sayu and Misa gasp surprised and then look at him with compassion. I know I'm startled, it's not very common for somebody to introduce himself as a cursed person. I look at Ryuzaki. He stares at the man with the usual impassiveness.

"Why is that?" Ryuzaki asks. Matsuda lifts his head and stares at the pale man only momentarily. I notice him avoiding the other one's eyes.

"I'm a disgrace. Everything I do goes wrong. Every time I try to help somebody, I end up ruining everything." He bends his head down again and sighs miserably. "I'm cursed. It's the only answer I can find for my bad luck!" There is a heavy silence. Nobody seems to know what to say to this depressive man.

"They told us in Daito that you were a stranger there." Ryuzaki finally decided to break the silence with his monotonous voice. I think everybody is quite thankful he did. That was quite an awkward moment.

"Yes, I'm traveling to Awaji Island. They say there lives a powerful sorceress in Sumoto. Maybe she can lift up the curse." He speaks more cheerfully. Ryuzaki lifts his head slightly and looks borderer than ever.

"I doubt you are cursed. You are probably just a very clumsy and reckless person." This time everybody gasps of outrage, all except for Near, who seems to be amused by his father's words as he develops a small grin in his thin lips.

"No! It's true!" Matsuda yells. I sense a hint of desperation in his voice. It's pleading, begging for Ryuzaki's attention. And he succeeded: the Wise One is staring questionably at him. "I am truly cursed! I-I was cursed years ago, when I was just a little boy…" I shiver as I notice Ryuzaki lock his eyes with Matsuda's. The man we just rescued looks suddenly very pale, his eyes shining of what I believe is fear.

"Cursed by whom?" Ryuzaki asks.

"An old lady…a Wise One." We all gasp. Ryuzaki and Near are the only ones who do not react. Instead they are both silent. Disturbingly silent.

"How did this happen, Touta Matsuda?" Ryuzaki asks. His eyes are fixed on Matsuda's. He's surely already looking into his soul, seeking for the truth. Matsuda looks livid; tears are forming in his eyes. "Answer me!" Ryuzaki commands, losing his patient with the hesitating man. Matsuda lets out a small shriek from fright and falls with his butt on the floor.

"I was only five! I was curious and followed my village's elders!" He screams helplessly. I can see Ryuzaki's eyes widen from surprise. "I meant no harm, I was just curious. I followed them to a place I should have never gone. And even hidden, she found me, the old woman…She looked at me with her dead eyes and told I was predestined to bring misery wherever I went to!"

"You followed the Three Elders to a village of Wise Ones!" Ryuzaki asks his voice stern and constringed. Matsuda trembles and nods. Tears are flowing down his face.

"I was so scared with what she told me. I run away screaming and stumbling everywhere in my way. It's my fault that the last Wise One's village was destroyed! I made so much noise and left so many tracks behind, it's no wonder the Truth Holders found it!" He cried out loud. Ryuzaki steps nearer Matsuda. He looks down at him, his eyes darker than ever. I run hastily and put myself between him and the crying man. My heart freezes for a moment. Ryuzaki's looks terrifying. His face is impassive; all his facial muscles look frozen and strained. Like a strange mask. A mask of a dead man, with no emotions or life within it. But his eyes…I can see the dark stormy clouds in them. I can sense a strange energy around him. A dark aura. Suddenly I fear him.

"Ryuzaki, be reasonable! He was only a child!" Ryuzaki's stormy eyes don't leave Matsuda, who's knelled on the floor; his face is wet from the tears that keep streaming continuously. He makes no sound. He's like a prey that already surrendered to its predator and waits helplessly for the final and deadly blow. "We don't even know for sure if he truly led them to your village." Ryuzaki's eyes twitch. He takes some deep breaths. I can see in his black eyes that he's fighting internally to control his anger. I'm trembling. I cannot move. It's cold and dark. _Is he going to take me down to get to Matsuda? _Hopelessly, I try to hide my fear as best as possible. I stand my ground firmly with my arms stretched blocking his way. His eyes switch from Matsuda's and redirect to mine. I swallow dry as I can read the fury in them. I'm looking right at the heart of the storm. I'm starting to regret for interfering.

"I heard the news that a Wise One survived the fury of the Truth Holders and that he was back, twenty years later…" I hear Matsuda's shaky voice behind me. I dare not take my eyes from Ryuzaki's. His infuriating gaze returns to Matsuda. I stop breathing. "So I left my home and everything I own and love, seeking him…so…so that if I would find him…I c-could ask for his forgiveness!" I witness the startling in Ryuzaki's eyes. The dark clouds are shifting madly, there's a conflict in his soul. But then the clouds start dissipating slowly until they disappear completely and all that's left is hollowness. Ryuzaki's shoulders relax and return to his normal curved position. His eyes are as lifeless as always. "She had the same eyes as you." Matsuda murmurs sadly.

Ryuzaki lets himself fall on the ground and remains a while kneeled on front of Matsuda. I step back, giving more space between the two men. I gasp silently when I see the sincere sorrow in Ryuzaki's face. Matsuda is sobbing helplessly and for my great astonishment, I see tears coming out of Ryuzaki's eyes too.

"I can feel your pain, your regret, your guilt." Ryuzaki whispers at the wrecked man. He smiles gently. "It's an unfair burden you carry around."

Matsuda looks at the Wise One's eyes. The terror is gone and all that's left is sadness.

"I'm so sorry! Please forgive me." He throws himself to Ryuzaki. "I'm sorry." I'm amazed to see, that after a moment of surprise and not knowing what to do, Ryuzaki gently put his hands around the crying man.

"It's all right." He whispers "It's all right. I see no evil in your soul." He softly says. "There is no malice, no ill-intention, nothing. You must have one of the kindest and innocent souls I've ever seen." Ryuzaki's voice sounds almost ashamed. Matsuda looks completely shocked at the Wise One. He blinks amazed, the last tears dropping from his eyes.

"You must hate me." Matsuda whispers. Ryuzaki looks a moment at him and then stands up again.

"A moment ago I could have killed you. But that would have been as unfair as the killings the Truth Holders did." He turns to me. "Thank you Yagami-kun. What you did was very stupid. But I'm happy you did." I swallow hard. That was definitely a close one. I will keep it in mind. Ryuzaki turns again to Matsuda. "It wasn't you who destroyed the village and all its inhabitants. You may have been the cause, but you didn't do it. Just like people were the cause for the almost destruction of Mother Nature, but in the end, it were the Truth Holders, only them, who took action and made all the decisions and plans. They alone, are the only ones responsible for the miserable state of the world we live in." He gives one hand to Matsuda to help him stand up. The young man looks at the pale hand a bit surprised but smiles and accepts it. "Thank you for reminding me of that." Ryuzaki almost secretly says.

The rest of us breathe out of relieve. That was a frightening display. Near is staring from his father to Matsuda with large surprised eyes.

"Learn to surpass anger, because it blinds and hides the truth. Learn to forgive. These are important lessons in our life." He tells his son, who nods back at him. He lifts the child and places him back on the wagon.

"We should proceed with our travel." He merely states. Matsuda is staring at us hesitantly.

"I want to go with you!" Matsuda suddenly speaks with a confident tone. "There are still Truth Holders around and if they hear the news, they won't be very happy. Let me travel with you and I'll offer my protection." Ryuzaki looks a bit surprised, rests his index on his lip and stares thoughtfully at the skies. "Please, it's the least I can do. Let me make it up for you." He says almost pleadingly. Ryuzaki stares at him with large round eyes.

"Ok. You may travel with us."

"Yay!" Matsuda cheers as he lifts victoriously his right arm in the air. "I promise you won't regret." I feel amused. From the look in Ryuzaki's face, he doesn't seem to share the other's man enthusiasm. "So, where are we going?" Matsuda happily asks.

"To Osaka." The Wise One merely answers. The girls gasp. _I knew it!_

"Ouw! The cursed city of the wandering souls?" The man looks quite terrified. "I've heard nobody comes out of there alive!"

"Still want to join us?" Ryuzaki asks. Matsuda's eyes widen just for a second and them he looks at the Child of the gods with great determination.

"Yes."

"Good." And so Matsuda joins us. I invite him to sit with Misa and myself.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" I ask Ryuzaki as we leave. He turns to look at me with most blank face he could ever make.

"You never asked Yagami-kun." He says like if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I swear, in this kind of moments, I could kill him. Misa is already pressed against me and Matsuda is praying something behind us, I gladly don't understand it. I switch worried looks with Sayu. And I wonder. What does Ryuzaki seek in the doomed city?

* * *

_**A/N**_

_**Remembering that the Wise Ones are also human and their feelings do not differ from men. Uuuh, scary Ryuzaki. And brave (foolish) Light. **_

**_It was a pretty difficult chapter, to bring the tension and the danger in a repressed form, and still make it exciting. The interaction of Ryuzaki, Light and Matsuda. And all the diferent emotions. Puffff. Hope I suceeded._**

**_They'll be soon in Osaka. Prepare for some more revelations and the introduction of more characters ;D_**

**_Please review!_**


	19. The haunted city

**_Time is forgotten… long ago. _**

My eyes are fixed on the city ahead us. Silhouettes of towered figures become larger and clearer as we slowly approach them. I swallow dry. The familiar feeling of a mix of curiosity and anxiety fills me up. The same feeling I had two months ago, when I decided to venture the Mountain of Oblivion. Was it just two months ago? It feels so much longer…

We are in the limits of the city now. A dirty board made of some kind of steal stands on the way before us. We stop without agreeing beforehand. Matsuda jumps from the wagon to wipe off the thick layer of dry mud.

"O-S-A-K-A". He reads loud and he makes out the half vanished letters. "Osaka." He repeats, staring at us in fear and unbelief.

We all look at magnificent high towers before us. We are about to enter the haunted city. Nobody dares to speak. I wonder what we will find inside this dead word of concrete. I look up. The towers stretch themselves all the way up so they can touch the skies. They are definitely no natural formations. They made by men. My eyes cannot believe what they see. My mind refuses to accept that people once were able to build such incredible constructions. It goes beyond all logic.

I wonder how tall they are. I wonder why they were made so tall in first place. And I wonder what they were used for. The towers seem to look down at us not being used to human presence anymore. Ages of solitude.

Before we enter the city, Sayu and Matsuda switch places. She sits next to me and Matsuda takes the empty space next to Ryuzaki. The Wise One and I exchange looks. It is time. We are about to disturb the silence that has reigned Osaka for many centuries.

Ryuzaki enters the city first. I follow. My eyes rest on Near. He's sitting as usual with his back glued to his father, holding his stuffed toy against his chest. He stares back at me and smiles deliberately. After all this time together, I can't stop myself for thinking of the child as weird and even awkward. The secrecy in his eyes. I have the feeling he's hiding something. And I'm not sure I want to know what it is.

We barely entered the city's outskirts and we all gasp at the sight before us. The street where we find ourselves in is completely filled up with strange metal things. They are really peculiar, like some kind of large boxes with strange shapes. They have wheels and windows and even doors. I can see that because some are open. I look inside one of these strange objects. Are those chairs inside?

"These used to be people's transportation." Ryuzaki's voice cuts the silence. "It seems they were trying to get out of the city massively."

"Like if they were running away of something." Matsuda's voice is almost a whisper.

I can feel a cold chill go down my spine. I look better at the interior of these ancient vehicles. I can make out several small objects but I fail to recognize what they are for. They are covered by a thick layer of dust, untouched for ages. I look up. The vehicles spread themselves as far as my eyes can see. Another chill down my spine. I wonder why people were trying to escape. What were they running from? And what made them stop? I freeze. It finally strikes me. There's nobody in inside the vehicles. No corpses, no skeletons, nothing that denounces the human presence in these things. In fact, everything around us lacks the presence of human life. Of any kind of life! There is no trace of people, animals and even plants that have ever lived here. All I can see is ruined concrete and broken shattered glass. A truly dead world.

We continue our travel under the shadow of the great buildings. Nobody is able to keep their eyes away from the strange vehicles. There are thousands and thousands of them. As I look better at them, I notice they differ in shape and size. Some even have rests of color on them. I realize these vehicles must have been far more advanced than our modern ways of transportation. None of them seemed to be pulled by an animal, which means they moved by their own! Should I be right, than the civilization from the past was truly amazing! But I can't help to think it's ironic. Such an advanced civilization! Yet it was suddenly destroyed. The survivors lost all the abilities in restoring themselves to their normal life style. I feel sick, revolted. In the Golden Ages people had it all. But then the wars came. And now, today we are the heirs of these conflicts. We struggle to survive. We moved backwards in development. All because gods and humans fought. We lost all our knowledge. So humanity had to start all over again! From the very beginning.

We travel for what feels like ages. We follow the long line of rusty vehicles. We come in crossroads where more of these vehicles are. Apparently, people were coming from all different parts of the city. Running away from something. Trying to escape…

We pass different areas of the city. Streets change, buildings change. But the same deadness is always present. It's like time froze here. Time ceased existing. I'm overwhelmed by an uncomfortable feeling. I realize. We are not welcome here. We are intruding the silence that has ruled Osaka for many centuries. The sound of the wheels on the dry floor feels wrong. The sound of our breathing feels wrong. We don't belong to this dead world. Everything is dead. Time and sound are dead. But we are not. And so we disturb this world made out of thousands of mighty concrete trees stretching themselves in to infinity. Over towering us. Watching us. Cold, grey and lifeless.

"Long ago Osaka was a great city." Ryzaki casually says. He doesn't seem to be affected by the scenario surrounding him. Wise One of not, he's just outlandish. And he chooses the worst time and place to become chatty. His voice in the dead silent streets feel wrong... "One of the largest of Nipon." Ryuzaki continues. "Tokyo was the largest, perhaps even the largest in the world. It lay in your home province, Yagami-kun."

"I've heard about Tokyo. Legends tell it was larger than all the towns from Kanto together. People could talk with each other from great distances and they could fly to other worlds. They say it was the city of Lord Techno." Misa suddenly blurts with her high pitched voice. Why? In the gods' names, why does she have to be so loud?

"But if Tokyo was even larger than Osaka, where is it now? I always thought they were just stories. I mean, there's nothing to be found in Kanto. At least nothing that looks like this city!" Sayu makes a point.

"Indeed, if once there existed a city even larger than this one in Kanto, why are there no remains of it? There is absolutely nothing to be found out there." I add.

"That's because mankind found means of complete destruction in the past."

I can almost feel my brains block. I cannot understand. I refuse to comprehend the Wise One's words. How in earth is it possible? Why? _Why create something so destructive? _How could people do something so horrible, so irreversible? _Why would somebody want destroy such a magnificent world? And be left off with a dead one?_ I can just picture the busy world of Osaka. I can just hear the voices of people filling the air; see the streets filled with movement, with life. Why did men do this? The people of the past must have been so advanced, so brilliant. They must have been able to do amazing things. Why self destroy?

"What happened to Tokyo?" Sayu asks the question I do not dare to speak aloud.

"Tokyo was completely disintegrated during the Great Wars. All that remains are the echoes of its existence that survived within time." Ryuzaki speaks with his usual cold and emotionless voice.

"But how do you destroy such a massive thing like a whole city? You claim it was even bigger than Osaka. Look around you! Nothing can be so powerful and destroy these buildings." I speak outraged. I can't hide my unbelief. I cannot accept the idea of mankind being able of doing such a thing. I don't even believe it's possible. It must have been something else, like a major earthquake, some kind of natural cataclysm. Anything but men.

"Everything was destroyed and turned into nothing more than dust." Ryuzaki continues undisturbed. I can see Matsuda staring at him, mouth open wide. "People created a weapon so deadly, so powerful that it disintegrated anything it touched."

I feel sick. Ryuzaki's words are spinning in my head. _A weapon so deadly…disintegrated ... anything it touched.._. Why? I feel dizzy so I try to concentrate on my surroundings. Try to put these haunted thoughts away. But everything seems to be a reminder of the time of humanity's downfall:

Buildings once covered by gigantic glass, now smashed and broken here and there.

Great openings allowing me to look inside the building's interiors. Its strange people had such large openings in the buildings, especially on the ground floor. Were they so peaceful they had no fear for they security?

Broken dolls dressed up like people. Their limbs missing, their eyes cold and haunting.

I see divisions filled up with rusty metal boxes of all sizes and shapes, once neatly tidied up next to each other on large shelves.

Books, hundreds and hundreds of books, covered in dust, waiting patiently for somebody to pick them up and read their words.

Once mankind made their way to a great and advanced civilization. And then fell. We blame the gods for their fall. But what if we are wrong? What if we are the ones to be blamed? I shake my head. No. That's not possible.

"Ryuzaki, why are we here?" I finally ask.

"To find the truth." He merely states.

"What do you mean?"

"After Osaka's destruction, the Truth Holders spread out the rumor that the city was haunted. They told the world that people here fell under the gods' anger, were cursed and became living dead as punishment. It was said that they would spread disease and kill anyone who entered the city. And so, for centuries people never dared to even approach the city."

"W-What if that's true?" Matsuda asked with a shaky voice.

"It's all an invention to keep people away." Ryuzaki insists. "I'm sure if there were living corpses walking around, they would already have appeared." Matsuda shrinks a bit in his seat and looks around nervously.

"So you think the Truth Holders were hiding something here?" I conclude.

"Osaka wasn't destroyed. It remained intact as you all can see."

"What about the people?" I ask. But I receive no answer, only a shrug. I guess even Ryuzaki doesn't have all the answers.

"So…what are we looking for?" Matsuda asks.

"I'm not really sure. Anything that can shade us some light upon what really happened 1700 years ago."

"The end of the Golden Era." I whisper.

We continue travelling slowly, each one of us lost deep in our own thoughts. We wander in the abandoned streets of Osaka. There are many crossings with strange metal bars with three circles on them. I see often metal signs like the one in the city's entrance, but bigger and on a high standard. Some of the texts are still visible. "National Museum", "South Temple", "Hospital"...

On the many of the damaged walls I can read angry texts written on them: "End the power of machinery", "Gods are destroyers of the world", "We were warned" but the one sentence that repeated itself over and over was "There is no Justice at War".

We reach a large open place. A great square. Ryuzaki and I stop simultaneously. I look around in shock. Everything is so clean. No dust on the floor, no vehicles anywhere. The buildings…they are white and have glass. Nothing is broken. Everything looks so orderly, so clean, like if it's all new. Like its still being used! I look at Ryuzaki. His eyes are wide. I can read the confusion on them. He too fails to understand why this part of the city is so different. I look at Near. His look is different. One of concentration.

"Do you hear that?" Ryuzaki suddenly asks. Near presses his stuffed rabbit against his chest. Now I'm worried. This is just like that time with the sand storm. We all wait and look around expectantly. At first I didn't hear anything. But now I can sense a vibration in the air. Like a soft humming far away. But this sound that felt so soft a moment ago, becomes increasingly louder and harder by the second.

"It sounds like…" Misa starts.

"Thousands of bees?" I finish.

"Light-kun! I don't like the sound of this." I feel Misa grasp my shirt but I ignore. I hear the sound become louder and closer. Too close.

"It sounds like a million of bees!" Matsuda yells under the loud sound.

"No! This is not what bees sound like!" Sayu yells back, covering her ears.

"Then what is it?" Matsuda screams.

At this Near stands up, fear imprinted in his dark orbs and points at the end of a street. I see them too. There are several of them, coming out from the different streets. And they are advancing in an amazing speed. There is no animal that could ever match this speed! The horrible and penetrating sound becomes almost unbearable. We all shrink and cover our ears in pain. The air fills up with an intoxicating smell and we all start coughing hard. I feel nauseous and breathe with difficulty.

The sound finally ceases and I look up. I barely can breathe and I feel frozen on the spot. I see three black creatures on front of us. They too do not move, but I know they are alive. Sometimes they reproduce a shorter but high pitched sound. I wonder if this is their way of communicating. I cannot even make out what they are. They do not resemble any animal I know. Their black skin shines under the hot sun and even blinds us sometimes, as they seem to reflect back the light. From the waist up, they remind me of a human. They have a large head, a perfect sphere, but no face. A chest and two arms that are lowered and are attached to the front part of the lower body, which is twice as large and has no legs. Instead, they have wheels. Maybe these are too some strange creation made by men in the past.

I gasp when I see one of these creatures move and detach from its lower body part. I realize now that they are separated parts and not one piece as I first thought! The creature is standing now on its two perfect legs. This can only mean that they are human beings after all, but somehow, their bodies have changed. Are these the living dead the Truth Holders spoke off? Are they some kind of Mutant? Or did our forefathers look different in the old days? I slowly look around and count six of them. They all take a sitting position on the thing they rode on. And they all are holding these long odd looking objects. I have no idea what they are for, but don't like the fact that they are pointed at us.

"Light-kun! I'm scared!" Misa suddenly screams. Only now do I notice I have two women clutched to me, squeezing my arms painfully. Matsuda already has his slingshot on his hand and prepares to shoot, but an inconceivable piercing sound cuts the air. There is smoke rising from the floor, close to Ryuzaki's wagon. We realize that, whatever this was came from one of those odd objects.

"Matsuda, don't try anything. I think those things are meant to hurt." I carefully say, without taking my eyes off the creatures. Matsuda nods silently, his eyes widened.

The creature/person takes a few steps in our direction. None of us dares to move and we all seem to hold our breaths as it comes closer. Its faceless head moves slowly from one side to the other. I know it is looking at each one of us with invisible eyes. I can see the world surrounding us reflecting where its face should be. It seems to focus on Ryuzaki. It comes closer to the Wise One and stops only a few steps before him.

"Hold your fire!" A muffed voice comes from it. All the others seem to hear the commando, despite the distance. One by one, they lower the objects they were holding onto. I witness the puzzlement on the Wise One's face when the creature kneels before him. I stop breathing when it places its hands on its large spherical head and takes it off. Gasps of pure surprise surround me. Under that spherical head is a young man, in the end of his teens. He has red brownish hair and wears a pair of large goggles. He smiles at Ryuzaki and lifts himself up, to face the others.

"He's a Wise One!" The young man yells in a cheerful tone. One by one, all the others remove their sphere, revealing their faces, and dismount themselves only to kneel as the boy did before. He turns around again to face Ryuzaki, with a wide grin on his face.

"We've been waiting for you."

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_I am so, but so very sorry for the late update! I have been very buzy, and next to that, I trully struggled to write this chapter. I kept changing it over and over until I was satisfied with the result (which is what you just read). I hope you liked it. I'm in the most dificult part of the story because I knew well how to write the beginning (at leat until the fight between Ryuzaki and the Truth Holders) and I know the end. It's the middle that has to be filled, so I'm kind of stuck, trying to give some structure to the following chapters, because they'll be important for the development of the story and lead to the events I have "reserved" for the last chapters...Oh well, I working on it, the ideas just don't come as easily as I would want._**

**_The most dificult part in this chapter was to describe an abandoned city of ourdays in a far future throught the eyes of somebody who's alian to our world. I also wanted to create a threatening feeling as the group travels in the city. I have the feeling I suceeded. Do you agree?_**

**_Anyway, some clarifications about this chapter:_**

**_1) Kanto - the province where Tokyo is_**

**_2) Nipon = Japan (in Japanese, also written as Nihon)_**

**_As for the human/creature/machine like things - are motorcycles of course. And the teen, well it's obvious, isn't it? I knew you would figure it out. You know what that means? Where the one is, the other is surely be in the proximity :)_**


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